Five Nigerians Killed After Leaving the Arondizuogu Convention in New York

Five people were killed, including two children in Queens, New York early Sunday when their speeding SUV, swerving after blowing through two red lights, slammed into a concrete pillar, rolled over and burst into flames, police and witnesses said.

The victims had just left a party at the Golden Terrace banquet hall on Atlantic Ave. in Richmond Hill celebrating the conclusion of the two-day annual convention of immigrants from the Nigerian town of Arondizuogu.

The 45-year-old driver, whose name was not released but hails from the Bronx, was barreling east on Atlantic Ave. when she slammed into one of the pillars that support the AirTrain to Kennedy Airport.

Firefighters went to work extricating three victims with the Jaws of Life while simultaneously putting out the engine fire. They pulled two boys, ages 7 and 9, from the rear window of the burning SUV, but a 9-year-old boy died at the scene. An 8-year-old girl who was thrown from the vehicle was found dead on the ground about 10 feet from the SUV.

Three women died in the crash. One woman was found dead still wearing her seat belt in the front passenger seat. Another victim was thrown from the SUV and pinned underneath it, officials said. Many of the eight passengers did not appear to be wearing seat belts, officials said, and the SUV is designed to carry no more than seven people.

There were no immediate charges against the driver, who had a clean and valid license, cops said.

The driver, her 7-year-old son and a 26-year-old man who ended up outside the vehicle survived the crash and were taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition.

The driver was in emergency surgery Sunday afternoon, while the man was set to be released, a hospital spokesman said. The boy was being treated in the pediatric emergency room.

“All I saw was headlights,” said Ryan Jardine, 24. “She ran the light, almost hit us and then hit the pole. She swerved to avoid impacting us. We saw the car just hit the pole, and it went into a somersault. It just started flipping. It was horrible.”

“The convention was supposed to bring us together — not end in tragedy,” said Anthony Nwankwo, 49, of Houston, who attended the festival.

Alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash.

Very sad!