Fourth of July celebrations take tragic proportions when driver drives truck into crowd in New York park

A motorist drove into a crowd celebrating the Fourth of July in a New York City park on Thursday, officials said. The tragic incident left three people dead and several others injured. The driver of the pickup truck was reportedly drunk at the time of the incident, but tests are being conducted and it is not yet confirmed. The park where the incident occurred is located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, next to the East River.

Many families were there and were “celebrating on this beautiful Fourth of July evening,” New York Police Chief Jeff Maddrey said at a press conference.

The pickup truck, a Ford F-150, was traveling “at a high rate of speed” down Water Street, went through an intersection, came onto the sidewalk and crashed into a crowd in Corlears Hook Park in Manhattan at about 8:55 p.m., police said. Officials said seven other people were injured in the incident. Two of them are in critical condition.

Mayor Eric Adams called the incident a tragedy and pointed out how many families were having fun and barbecuing that evening.

“Based on preliminary investigations, it currently appears that the driver was under the influence,” Adams said. “It’s still very early days. We will conduct a thorough investigation.”

Rescue workers “came across a pickup truck with four victims on it,” said Michael Meyers, deputy fire chief.

Maddrey said people responded quickly and “grabbed the driver, got him out and made sure he didn’t drive away until emergency responders got to the scene.”

The driver was not identified.