Van Crashes Off Overpass, Into Bronx Zoo – 7 Killed [VIDEO]

A van driving down a New York City highway crashed off of an overpass, plummeting into the Bronx Zoo below, killing seven people.

Authorities say the van was traveling southbound in the left lane of the Bronx River Parkway when it bounced off the center median, crossed all southbound traffic lanes and flipped over the guardrail.  The vehicle landed more than 100 feet below in a rail yard used to house the zoo’s monorail overnight.

All seven people killed were in the van, including three children.  No visitors were injured.  The victims include an 84-year-old man; three women, ages 80, 45 and 39; and three girls, ages 15, 5 and 3.

The accident was the second in the past year where a car fell off the same stretch of the Parkway.  Last June, the driver of an SUV heading north lost control and the SUV hit a divider, bounced through two lanes of traffic and fell 20 feet over a guardrail, landing on a pickup truck in a parking lot. The two people in the SUV were injured.

City agencies will be asked to look at safety issues on the highway including guardrail height, Bronx borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said in a statement Sunday.

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