Five Burned to Death in NYC Ambulette Crash

Five residents headed back to their adult home were burned to death yesterday afternoon when their ambulette crashed into a tree in Queens and burst into flames, authorities said.

Four other passengers and the driver survived the horrific 3:05 p.m. crash, with Good Samaritans pulling three of them from the burning wreckage. Three of the passengers were in critical condition last night.

The accident - which shattered the lazy summer calm in Broad Channel - occurred along an isolated stretch of Cross Bay Boulevard known for accidents, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, who responded to the scene.

The crash turned the ambulette into a mass of twisted, burning wreckage, with the dead burned "beyond recognition," Brown said.

"The engine is in the front seat," Brown said, describing the impact. "None of them were wearing seat belts and were thrust forward."

Brown and police said it appeared the driver lost control of the ambulette, which was heading back to the Brooklyn Manor Home for Adults in East New York, an adult home where the passengers live, and that no other vehicle was involved. State records show that the driver, Guy Thelemaque, 55, has a suspended license, apparently for failure to answer a summons.

But one of the surviving passengers yelled out that the ambulette driver had been cut off, according to witnesses.

The dead were identified as Mario Gonzalez, 58, Jose Alvarez, 55, Miguel Cruz, 56, James Lawson, 79, and William Smith, 69.

Moments after the crash, Thelemaque and one passenger climbed out of the wreck. Thelemaque was sitting on the ground, head in his hands, witnesses said.

At the same time, Michael Hickey, 35, a truck driver for a nearby business, passed by, saw what had happened and joined two other Good Samaritans.

"You could see the people were still alive," he said of the three trapped survivors. "We were just trying to get the people out before it was too intense."

One survivor was pulled out with no problem, Hickey said, but another survivor, Carl Hawkins, 44, weighed "350 to 400 pounds."

Eventually, though, Hawkins, whose foot was mangled in the crash, was pulled to safety.

Survivor Jean Hastik, 60, the only woman in the car "was screaming from agony," from a broken leg, Hickey said.

"I just told her, 'Lady, I got to, otherwise you're going to burn,'"' Hickey said. "Her head was wedged between the seats . . . and I pulled her out."

The Good Samaritans were forced to back off after that as the flames grew more intense.

Firefighters doused the blaze and police draped the wreckage in a white tarp until the bodies could be removed.

The victims had spent the day, as they often do, at the Peninsula Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation in Far Rockaway. Back at the adult home, which cares for people with mental disabilities and substance abuse problems, residents heard the news from staff members.

"When I heard, a shock went through my body," said resident Victor Diaz, 43. "We're all good friends. It's a close community."

All of the survivors were hospitalized with various injuries, authorities said.Jose Prieto, 56, was taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital along with Hawkins. Both were listed in critical condition. Thelemaque and Hastik were taken to the burn unit at Cornell Medical Center, where, police said, Hastik was in critical condition. Thelemaque was listed in stable condition.

Sheldon Wilson, 41, was taken to Jamaica Medical Center, where he was in serious but stable condition.

Kristy Davis and staff writer Luis Perez contributed to this story.

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