1963 — Nov 3, Car goes through inoperable dead-end warning, Harlem River, NYC — 11
— 11 National Safety Council. Accident Facts 1970 Edition. Chicago, IL: NSC, 1970. p. 63
— 11 NYT. “11 Die as Car Enters Dead End and Plummets into Harlem River.” 11-4-1963, p. 1.
— 11 Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Car Plunge Kills 11.” 11-4-1963, p. 1.
— 11 Tucson Daily Citizen, AZ. “10 of 11 in Death Car are Buried.” 11-8-1963, p. 20.
Narrative Information
Nov 4: “New York (AP) – Eleven persons, men women and children of “one big family,” drowned early Sunday when the car in which they were returning from a gay christening party leaped over a dead-end barrier and plunged into the icy waters of the Harlem River.
“The death toll equaled the state’s known record for a single traffic mishap.
“Police said twin blinker warning lights near the river’s edge had been blacked out by vandals who tore out the wiring. City Highway Commissioner John T. Carroll ordered an immediate survey of all streets with dead-ends on rivers, and said corrective action would be taken to remove any hazardous conditions.
“Police Commissioner Michael J. Murphy said the heavy death toll raised city auto fatalities to a record weekend high of 24 — the greatest number since the city began compiling such records 40 years ago.
“Those who died Sunday included three men, four women and four children, all members of interrelated Brooklyn families. Eight bodies were recovered from the murky, 40-foot-deep waters and police searched for the remaining three persons known to have been in the car at the time of the crash. A 12th occupant escaped with his life. The group was en-route from the christening party in the Bronx home of Rabindranatt Berrios. The crash almost wiped out three interrelated Brooklyn families.
“The accident occurred shortly after mid-night following the Bronx party.
“The record single traffic accident death toll for the state was believed set when 11 persons lost their lives in a bus-tractor trailer crash near Painted Post on Dec. 14, 1943.
“Only one person, I. Martinez, 40, of Brooklyn, was known to survive. He was in severe shock.
“Police said the driver of the car turned into Lincoln Avenue, which runs into a dead end at the river at 132nd Street. The car ran out onto a concrete string-piece and into the water. There is no fence at the end of the street. Authorities said the driver apparently was headed for the Third Avenue Bridge over the river but made a wrong turn and went down Lincoln Avenue.
“Police identified those killed as:
Judith Velez Martinez, 25, and her 4-year-old daughter, Dalia.
Amelia Aponte Velez, 34;
Luis Berrios, 22, his son, Angel, 15 months; his daughter, Iris, 3,
the elder Berrios’ sister, Haydee Berrios, 21, and
Juan Borrelli, 40.
“Police tentatively identified these others as killed in the crash:
Robinson Aponte Velez;
Norman Irish Berrios, 21, wife of Luis Berrios, and
David Martinez, 9.
“The bodies of all except Mrs. Berrios, David Martinez, and Robinson Velez have been recovered.” (Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Car Plunge Kills 11.” 11-4-1963, p. 1.)
Nov 5: “New York (UPI) – At least seven persons drowned early Sunday when the car in which they were riding careened out of control and sped off a pier at the end of a street, plunging into the Harlem River….
“Police said the car hurtled a three-foot barrier at the end of Lincoln Ave. in the Bronx, and plunged into the water. A crane was used to bring the car to the surface. The seven bodies were found inside. Dragging operations are under way…
“Police said they did not know how Martinez [the lone survivor], who gave the alarm after stumbling into a nearby tavern, managed to escape from the car.” (Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo. “7 Drown in Harlem River; Car Hurtles 3-Foot Barrier.” 11-5-1963, p. 5.)
Nov 8: “New York – (AP) – Ten of the 11 victims of the worst single-car disaster in New York City’s history today were buried as they died — together. Thousands of mourners crowded the Church of the Transfiguration for a solemn requiem high mass, and the sidewalks outside the Brooklyn church. More than 200 cars followed the hearses to St. Charles Cemetery at Pineville on Long Island.
“Grappling continued in the Harlem River for the body of the 11th victim, Norma Iris Berrios. She and the others died early Sunday when their car made a wrong turn, sped past a vandalized dead-end street blinker light and plunged into 35 feet of water. The 11 were returning to their Brooklyn homes from a christening party in the Bronx.
“The only survivor was the driver, Isaiah Martinez, 40, who lost his wife, Judith Velez, 25, and daughter, Dalia, 4….” (Tucson Daily Citizen, AZ. “10 of 11 in Death Car are Buried.” 11-8-1963, p. 20.)
Sources
National Safety Council. “Greatest Number of Deaths in a Single Motor-Vehicle Accident.” Accident Facts 1970 Edition. Chicago, IL: NSC, 1970. p. 63.
New York Times. “11 Die as Car Enters Dead End and Plummets into Harlem River.” 11-4-1963, p. 1. Abstract at: http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C16FF3A581A7B93C6A9178AD95F478685F9
Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo. “7 Drown in Harlem River; Car Hurtles 3-Foot Barrier.” 11-5-1963, p. 5. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=133207290&sterm
Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Car Plunge Kills 11.” 11-4-1963, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=18565711&sterm
Tucson Daily Citizen, AZ. “10 of 11 in Death Car are Buried.” 11-8-1963, p. 20. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=85020051&sterm