Sydney M Haines,Mordichy Zafir Obituary, Death; – Two individuals have lost their lives, and a 17-year-old boy sustained serious injuries in a wrong-way accident that occurred in the Hudson Valley region early Wednesday morning, as reported by the New York State Police.
The head-on collision took place shortly before 2 a.m. on a highway in the Village of Chester, located approximately 60 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan. State troopers indicated that a female driver operating a 2009 Nissan was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of State Route 17 when she collided head-on with a 2014 Honda Odyssey.
Both the driver of the Nissan, identified as 25-year-old Sydney M. Haines from Blackwood, New Jersey, and the other driver, 54-year-old Mordichy Zafir from Kiamesha Lake, New York, were pronounced dead at the scene.
A 17-year-old male passenger in the Honda, also from Kiamesha Lake, suffered serious injuries in the incident and was transported to Garnet Medical Center in Middletown, New York. His condition was not immediately available as of Thursday morning. Zafir, a rabbi and member of the Vizhnitz community, was reportedly returning home from a wedding in Monsey, New York, and the young victim is described as his son.
Authorities have not disclosed the factors that may have caused Haines to drive on the incorrect side of Route 17. The investigation into the crash is ongoing, according to the NYSP. Witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact the State Police Monroe Bureau of Criminal Investigation at (845) 344-5300.
