The crash happened around 11:10 p.m. Saturday on Jericho Turnpike near a catering hall called the “Inn at New Hyde Park.”
Dante Lennon, 22, of Freeport, was driving a 2012 Mercedes-Benz and struck the 2010 Lincoln Town Car with a driver and five passengers inside in the eastbound lane of the turnpike, police said.
Three female passengers in the back of the Lincoln were pronounced dead at the scene.
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They were identified as 66-year-old Marlene Lu, of Woodside, Queens, 68-year-old Ho Hua, also of Woodside, and 41-year-old Tu Nguyen, of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.
Authorities said Lu was the mother of the host, grandmother to the girl who had the sweet 16. Hua was the host’s aunt, while Nguyen was a cousin.
Also in the car was a 73-year-old man with neck and back pain who was treated and released, a 67-year-old man who suffered a fractured clavicle and shoulder injuries, and a 42-year-old man with fractured ribs.
“Very disturbing, never seen that ever in my life,” witness Jaylen Augustin said. “I just hope — why would that happen, I just can’t believe it.”
Lennon has been charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, and driving while intoxicated.
He was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
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