A family of five from Brooklyn was killed in a horrific accident on August 23 when the car they were driving veered off a Long Island highway and crashed into a tree, local media reported.
Myriam Lebraun, 37, was driving home with her mother and children from a family get-together at around 11 p.m. when she veered off the Southern State Parkway and crashed, and the car burst into flames, the New York Post said.
Lebraun, her mother, Yolande Moise, 68, and three children, Marcus Geanty, 14, Marcel Geanty, 9, and Kayla Geanty, 8, were all pronounced dead at the scene, according to the report.
The next of kin was understandably very distraught at the tragic loss of life.
“Why? Why? Why?” cried Geane Robert Lebraun, the children’s devastated grandfather outside their Flatbush home, according to the Post report.
“They are already dead. What can I do but try to survive? I saw them two weeks ago. I talked with my daughter, played with the children. Right now, I’m going over to mourn [with] what’s left of my family,” the Post quoted Lebraun as saying.
The youngest victim, Kayla, was ejected. The four others were trapped in the fire, officials told the Post.
“All of them! My God! I can’t believe all her children are gone!” said Marlene Thomas, 38, a neighbor and friend of the family.
“We live together, go out together, cook together. My daughter plays with Kayla every day! I can’t believe this,” the Post quoted her as saying.
Neighbors said the family was coming from a visit to their aunt in Babylon. It was not clear what made the car swerve off the highway that night.
Myriam Lebraun moved to the United States from Haiti when she was 17. She recently graduated from Kingsborough Community College and was a social worker, according to the Post.
An investigation will determine whether this was simply a tragic accident, or if some other factor contributed to the sad loss of life.
It something, or someone is found to have contributed to this accident, then it is possible the still-grieving family would be entitled to compensation.
Car Accident Attorney
William Schwitzer & Associates
Toll Free: +1 800-933-1212
Tel: +1 212-683-3800
