The four siblings killed in a fiery New York parkway crash along with their unlicensed teenage cousin had a long history of panhandling across at least three states, heartbroken angry relatives and neighbors tell the Daily News.
Investigators suspect, in fact, they were out begging the day they died. They have recovered surveillance footage that appears to show the children panhandling at a New Jersey mall hours before the March 19 crash, according to local reports. In their hunt for handouts, the young siblings ranging in age from 8 to 17 found themselves alone far from home on a winding road to their polyamorous parents’ house in Derby, Conn., with their cousin behind the wheel.
“They were sent up to New Jersey that day to panhandle … That’s why they were so far away,” one relative told the Daily News, breaking down in tears.
Relatives who spoke to The News, who asked not to be named for fear of angering the victims’ parents during a difficult time, painted a haunting picture of an unconventional family where the children didn’t go to school, their father and his “two wives” lived together under one roof, and the kids spent time panhandling.
“I’m so mad. I’m so angry. I hope they’re somewhere in the afterlife getting better treatment than they did on Earth,” the relative said.
There were warning signs of trouble before the crash. Authorities had been involved with the family as long as nine months ago when cops and child welfare were alerted after the kids were spotted begging in a Connecticut shopping plaza, a police report obtained by The News shows.
Child welfare agents had already met with family members, including several of the children who perished, weeks before the crash “based on an alleged incident that occurred in New York,” officials previously said.
After interviewing several of the children, no further actions was deemed necessary.
Authorities said 16-year-old Malik Smith, who didn’t even have a learner’s permit, was…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply