Two Brooklyn teens bound for a Connecticut yeshiva were killed early Monday when an old van they were riding in suddenly swerved off a highway, flipped and skidded down an embankment.
Two Brooklyn Boys Headed to Yeshiva Die in Wreck
Two Brooklyn teens bound for a Connecticut yeshiva were killed early Monday when an old van they were riding in suddenly swerved off a highway, flipped and skidded down an embankment.
The van slid about 150 feet down the embankment and slammed into several trees before finally coming to a halt alongside a stretch of Interstate 84 near Danbury.
Eli Shonbron, 16, and Dani King, 15, died at the scene, according to a Connecticut State Police report.
Nine other students were packed inside the 1998 Ford Club Wagon, and some had to be freed from the mangled vehicle by rescuers. The survivors were treated at a nearby hospital for “non-life-threatening injuries,” the report stated.
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash, which happened about 12:30 a.m.
The van was registered to a man named Mark Sperling, who lives in the Midwood section of Brooklyn. A woman who answered the phone at his home number refused to speak with a reporter.
The driver was identified in the report as Ellmelech Sperling, who turns 22 on Wednesday. He lives at the same address as the van’s owner, according to the report.
The students were heading from New York to the Yeshiva Ateres Shmuel in Waterbury, Conn. The van was in an eastbound lane of the interstate when it crashed.
It was the second serious crash in the area in the span of an hour, according to Connecticut’s NewsTimes website.
Waterbury has a fast-growing Orthodox Jewish community, which has helped revitalize the struggling city in central Connecticut. The yeshiva enrolls 400 student from kindergarten through higher grades.
The Halloween weekend snow storm knocked out power to the Yeshiva, and the students were returning to school after having spent a week at home as a result.
BDE men darf moshiach now!
AAd MOsaaiii!!!!! ayayay…
My Opinion }only the paranoid survive
The FBI caused this crash
Saddened
Bs”D
Boruch Dayan Haemes. I feel so bad for their families and the other boys who were there and witnessed it.
We need Moshiach NOW!
oy :(
BDE & refua shelema
MOSHIACH NOW
Coinsidences?
Does anybody else see ties in many of these accidents?
Late at night, very young kids, old cars or vans.
BOBBY
Oh my Lord. This is absolutely terrible and I feel so sorry for the families. Such a young age. May their names be a better bitter for all Klal Yisroel.
sad mother
Bochrim think that they are invincible! the speed limit is to be obeyed NOT Ignored! were there enough seat belts in the car?
oy
So sad, my heart breaks for the victims and the driver, horrible accident. May hashem have rachamim on them.
Hashem we need Moshiach
One boy that was killed in the accident is Rabbi Heschel Greenberg of Buffalo’s nephew. BDE
RS
someone I spoke to who knows relatives of these families said it might have been black ice, so even though I agree that bocherim think they’re invincable, it might have been a situation with black ice, HaShem Yishmor.
;-(
BDE
Pinny
I condemn the racist comment made by #10
concerned in MA
To #12……………..
Black ice is not a racist remark. It is used by people of all colors to describe a specific road hazzard. Wikipedia describes it this way:
Black ice, sometimes called glare ice or clear ice, refers to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface.
While not truly black, it is virtually transparent, allowing black asphalt/macadam roadways to be seen through it, hence the term “black ice”. The typically low levels of noticeable ice pellets, snow, or sleet surrounding black ice means that areas of the ice are often practically invisible to drivers and thereby do not serve as a good indicator that they should reduce their speeds.Similar thin invisible layers of ice that form along ships can cause them to become unbalanced. In the mountains, black ice is referred to as verglas and is a great hazard for climbers.
As someone who has encountered it more times than I cared to, I can assure you that even the most compitent driver can lose control of a vehicle in a split second at normal, or even low, driving speeds.
No matter the cause, it is tragic that two promising young lives were lost.
#7
to #7: a teragedy happened and the first thing ur thinking of is whos to blame??? if it was ur child ud probably be feeling bad not complaining
to no.13
Read comment no. 10 again you will realize that it is not the black ice which is targeted as a racist remark
BDE
I’m related through marriage to this boy, such a tragedy and its shocking when people make this situation into some joke . keep your irrelevant comments to yourself
to #13
Well written
DaasTorah
Please wear your seatbelt and don’t drive way over the speed limit. This could have been prevented. Oy…
Mendel
shvatza ice !
Devastating
What unbearable pain for these families.
(Please editors be responsible and edit the comments you allow to be printed ! You cannot change fools but their foolish comments at such a time should never be allowed.)
Baruch Weinstein
what was racist about comment #10 ? black ice means strips of ice you cant see on the road until it is too late?
someone please explain??
The Danger of 15-passenger Vans
Warning:
In certain instances 15 passenger vans are a major safety hazard.
You must always check that the tire pressure requirements are being met.
Look on the inside panel of the drivers door.
On mine, the front takes 50psi and the back takes 80psi.
If it’s off, Ch’v, a person can lose control of the vehicle.
And that’s true for normal weather, so certainly it’s true in abnormal weather.
Check your tire pressure regularly.
Check out this website:
http://www.vanangels.org/
shlomo
Bs”D
Boruch Dayan Haemes.
p.s to#12 you a simple idiot!
and i say every morning B-ruh sheloasani goy so I’m racist toooooo?
Think first
There is good reasons why insurance companies have extra high premiums for under age 25 drivers.
Don’t put your children in danger by putting them in full capacity 15 passanger vans driven late in the night by young inexperienced drivers.
Spare yourself the chance of a horrific accident.
to no.s 13 and 21
I know this is irrelevant but i like to clear misunderstandings even though i have nothing to do with the original comment. it is saying the bochurim thinking they are invincable which is taken to be as a racist comment by some.
When will we ever learn?!
This story is a horrible tragedy. It should have never happened!
But can we learn from it? To be certain, an accident can occur with any driver at the wheel. However, without passing any judgment whatsoever on the particular driver of this vehicle, perhaps now is the time to declare once-and-for-all that 22-year-olds (i.e. young drivers) are not the best candidates for acting as a chauffeur for other people?? That all parents / mosdos / yeshivas / camps should listen-up and be more responsible about whom they entrust their charges to? Too many of such stories keeping happening – of young people losing their lives in senseless car accidents.
Fact is that this age bracket has the highest percentage of death r’l among all drivers. That is why their car insurance premiums are so high.
While young drivers must learn to drive in order to gain experience, it seems helplessly foolish and irresponsible to allow a van full of other children to be their passengers.