Witnesses Speak Out After Dodging Wrong-Way Driver That Crashed, Killing 2
ARDSLEY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - There's new information Friday about a deadly crash that killed a father and 17-year-old in Westchester County on Thursday night.
Authorities say a man driving the wrong way plowed into an SUV where that dad was driving his son and two of his friends.
It happened just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Police say a Jeep, driven by 50-year-old Jamie Paucar, was going the wrong way on Interstate 287 East in Harrison.
"He seemed to be going pretty fast, between kinda 60-70 miles per hour," witness Kristin Sury told CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas.
She was in the car with her fiance, who had to swerve as they saw the Jeep in the far left emergency lane headed in their direction.
"It's just kind of scary, when you're just seeing the lights aren't flashing, so you see that they're on your side," she said.
Moments after the Jeep passed Sury near Exit 9, it slammed into an SUV, killing the driver, 57-year-old Jordan Wachtell, and 17-year-old passenger Eric Goldberg.
Two other 17-year-olds, including Wachtell's son, were seriously injured.
"These students were traveling to play basketball as part of a Jewish league that they had," said Dr. Ryan Schoenfeld, Ardsley School District superintendent.
A dedicated father, Wachtell was taking his son and two of his son's friends to a game. All of the teens were seniors at Ardsley High School, where Friday students and staff were in mourning.
"It's my job again to be able to talk like this and not lose my cool. But inside my heart is in little pieces right now," Dr. Schoenfeld said.
Counselors were on hand to help students grieve as they mourned Eric Goldberg, who played football, bowled and had such a bright future.
Meantime, Paucar, the wrong-way driver, is recovering in the hospital. Police say the 50-year-old was alone in his SUV.
Investigators are still trying to determine what happened.
Counselors are going to be back at Ardsley High School on Saturday from noon - 2 p.m. for students and staff who need to talk. There will also be therapy dogs.
