Pregnant Hudson Valley Woman Killed, Teen Clings To Life
A pregnant Hudson Valley woman is dead and a teenage girl critically injured in a horrific crash.
On Saturday around 7 a.m., for an unknown reason, a 2003 Ford Econoline van crashed into the back for a tractor-trailer on the Major Deegan Expressway.
The driver of the Ford, 30-year-old Jennifer Parisella of Middletown, was pronounced dead at the scene. Her 14-year-old stepdaughter, Sky Mendoza, a backseat passenger, was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center in critical condition and had surgery Saturday afternoon for a brain bleed and broken spine.
Relatives tell the New York Post Sky has a 50 percent chance of living.
Another passenger, Parisella's stepson, 12-year-old Orlando Mendoza, Jr., is listed in stable condition with a broken collarbone. Parisella's 28-year-old brother, the car's front-seat passenger is also in stable condition. The truck driver stayed at the scene and is in stable condition.
The family works on a farm in the Hudson Valley and were bringing farm goods to a farmer's market, according to the New York Post.
Witnesses tell the paper Parisella was five months pregnant.