By Dustin Brown
An early morning accident claimed three lives Saturday when a car ran off the road and crashed into a building in an industrial section of West Maspeth, leaving a fourth passenger in critical condition, police said.
The car's driver, Kuba Sikorski, 29, of 516 Woodward Ave. in Ridgewood, was pronounced dead upon arrival at Elmhurst Hospital Center, police said. Two female passengers whose names were not released were pronounced dead at the scene, and a fourth woman who had been riding in the car was rushed to Elmhurst where she was listed in critical condition, police said.
Hospital officials could not give an updated report on the surviving passenger's condition, citing patient privacy rights.
The car was discovered around 6:30 a.m. Saturday when police responded to a 911 emergency call. The black Ford Explorer was lying on the passenger side with its underbelly facing the street and its roof pan-caked against the side of the building, a warehouse for Wheaton Van Lines Inc. at the corner of Laurel Hill Boulevard and 56th Road, police said.
The SUV had been traveling eastbound on Review Avenue when it flipped over and crashed into the side of the building, police said. No other vehicles were involved in the accident, which happened when the roads were slick from rainfall.
The route Sikorski followed wraps around the rear of Calvary Cemetery and follows the curve of Newtown Creek, running through a heavily industrial area. There are few traffic lights or intersections along the roadway, which provides a quick back route connecting Long Island City to Maspeth and Ridgewood.
Sikorski, a married father of a 2 1/2-year-old daughter, was an immigrant from Poland.
His wife and relatives were extremely distraught and declined requests for an interview when reached by telephone at their Ridgewood home.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
