Violent Meadowbrook State Parkway crash leaves 2 dead; Woman hits police car

UNIONDALE (WABC) -- Two people were killed when a car crashed into the woods along the Meadowbrook State Parkway on Long Island overnight Monday.

The midnight accident near Uniondale closed the southbound lanes at exit M5 for hours, reopening just in time for the morning rush.

Police say the single-car crash was so severe and so violent that it split the car in half.

The driver, 22-year-old Stanley Miles, of Roosevelt, and 31-year-old passenger Darren Gregory, also of Roosevelt, were thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

"He was just a very loving, outgoing kid," said Stanley's mother Verona.

She is devastated. Her son didn't make it home after a friend's birthday party. Instead, he lost control of his Camaro on the Meadowbrook.

State police investigators say the car was driving southbound, just past Hempstead Turnpike, when it struck the center median, then careened across three lanes of traffic and into the woods, where there is no guardrail.

It is unclear how the driver lost control, but police say he veered off of the highway and slammed into a large tree, uprooting it and splitting the vehicle in half. They believe speed was a factor.

And in a bizarre, freak accident, another motorist drove headlong into a state police cruiser blocking the highway just after 6 a.m.

The driver, a woman said to be in her 60's, appeared dazed but unhurt.

A trooper inside the cruiser suffered what were later described as minor injuries. Why the woman struck his car was not immediately clear.

His relatives described Stanley Miles as a bright, upbeat young man with a promising future, who was working to expand his family's fencing business.

In a video, Miles and a friend are seen performing the ice bucket challenge on Gregory, the passenger who died in the accident.

"He was a very dedicated person, very loyal. He was fun-loving, always liked having fun," said the victim's uncle, Priestly Green.