Taconic Parkway Accident

A mom from Long Island who drove the wrong way on a suburban parkway sparked a horrific car crash Sunday that killed eight people, including four children in her minivan, police said.

Three Yonkers men in an SUV also were killed instantly when the woman's minivan barreled head-on into them on the Taconic Parkway in Briarcliff Manor.

A fifth child was clinging to life, said Hawthorne Fire Chief Joe LaGrippo, who was one of the first to respond to the 1:35p.m. crash near Route 117.

"We've never seen anything like this," LaGrippo told the Daily News. The 15-year veteran of the fire department broke down in tears as he described the scene of the deadliest car crash in Westchester County in 65years.

"Four dead children," LaGrippo said. "It is tough. We are only human. It is sad."

Firefighters held up white sheets as they pulled the dead bodies from the cars. The children were ages 2, 5, 7 and 9.

One girl was the 36-year-old mom's daughter. The other three girls were her nieces.

Her 5-year-old son suffered severe head trauma and was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, where he is in critical condition.

The mother and children were from Floral Park and West Babylon, L.I. Their identities were not released.

The three other dead victims were from Yonkers, and a relative identified them as father and son, Mike Bastardi, 82, and Guy Bastardi, 49, and a family friend, Dan Longo.

The trio were on their way to Yorktown for a Sunday pasta dinner, a weekend tradition for the family.

"They were late getting there. My wife tried to call their cell phones," said a shaken Robert Guzzo, 52, a relative of the Bastardis. "As soon as I saw it on TV, I just knew."

The red Ford Aerostar minivan also struck a third vehicle, but the two men in that car were not seriously injured.

It was unclear why the mom wound up driving southbound in the parkway's northbound lanes.

After the minivan crashed, it rolled down a hill and burst into flames. Peter Dedvukaj, 29, of Yonkers, was driving on the parkway when he saw the crash.

"All I could hear was, 'Help! Help!' he told The News. "We started to pull the kids from the car. Four kids - three girls and one boy."

Dedvukaj said the scene was "too graphic" to describe.

"The woman was in bad shape," he said. "I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. I don't even know if there were legs there. It was horrible."

Traffic in both directions along the Taconic Parkway was backed up for hours.

"I've been with the state police for 24 years, and I have never seen such a tragedy," said New York State Police investigator Joseph Becerra.