Five victims of horrific New Year's Day car crash are identified after 24-year-old driver flipped car at a 'high rate of speed' before collision

Authorities in New York have released the names of the five people who died in a high-speed car wreck on the Queens' Cross Island Parkway. 

Police responded to the area on New Year's Day after a Mazda overturned on the stretch of road in the early hours of Monday morning. 

They found the Mazda on its roof, with a Honda also involved in the collision near the Whitestone Bridge. All five people inside the Mazda were dead at the scene.

Police have identified the driver of the Mazda as Kazeem Ramasahai, and the occupants as Mario Ocampo, 30, Dayanara Benitez-Ocampo, 19, Salma Garcia-Diaz, 23, and Jordy Bentances, 20. 

According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), all of the passengers lived in the Queens borough of the city, while Ramasahai was from North Carolina.  

Police responded to the area on New Year's Day after a Mazda overturned on the stretch of road in the early hours of Monday morning

They found the Mazda on its roof, with a Honda also involved in the collision near the Whitestone Bridge was left ruined

Ramsahai had been approaching the southbound exit ramp of the Cross Island Parkway when he struck the center median, according to the police. 

The Mazda is then believed to have overturned and landed into the path of the Honda.  

Medics rushed to treat the occupants of the vehicles, but the five died in the smash while a 63-year-old man driving the Honda was rushed to hospital. 

Horrifying footage shows the aftermath of the collision shortly after police arrived on the scene. 

One officer can be seen building a screen in an attempt to shield the wreckage from the public. 

The Mazda is also seen lying strewn across the road, with debris from the vehicle spread across the stretch of road. 

White sheets seemingly covered the bodies of those who died in the crash.  

Officials said the driver of the Honda was expected to survive, and that the Mazda had collided with the white SUV. 

According to the New York Daily News, Mario Ocampo, Dayanara Benitez-Ocampo and Salma Garcia-Diaz were cousins. 

White sheets are also seen at the scene, apparently covering the bodies of those who died in the crash

Medics rushed to treat the occupants of the vehicles, but the five died in the smash while a 63-year-old man driving the Honda was rushed to hospital

All five inside the Mazda died at the scene, while the driver of the Honda was taken to hospital and is expected to survive

Dayanara Benitez-Ocampo's sister Nicole Ocampo, 21, said she had witnessed the collision from another vehicle nearby. 

Speaking to the outlet from her home, which was full of grieving relatives, she said: 'It was terrible.' 

Neighbors who live close by have since said that the particular stretch of road has become synonymous with accidents

Resident Mike DiMarco told NBC New York: 'This is not the first or second time that this has occurred on this bend. They call it the dead man’s curve for a reason.'

Frank Steele also told the outlet: 'We’ve been asking for blinker lights and warn people the dangers that occur because people who’ve never traveled this road, they look at it and by the time it comes on you can’t react to it.'

It comes after five people were injured after a car plowed into New Year's Eve revelers near Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. 

A mass casualty incident was said to be declared following the crash on West 34th Street and 9th Avenue, with three NYPD officers among those injured. 

The driver, a 44-year-old male, is now in custody at Bellevue Hospital. It's been reported that the police were chasing the car prior to the crash.