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Child welfare agencies paid visit to families of children killed in Hutchinson River Parkway crash

Child welfare agencies paid "courtesy visit" to families of children killed in Scarsdale crash
Child welfare agencies paid "courtesy visit" to families of children killed in Scarsdale crash 01:18

NEW YORK -- There are new developments in the tragic deaths of five young people last weekend in a crash on the Hutchinson River Parkway.

CBS2 has learned weeks before the crash child welfare agencies were in contact with some of the children who died.

Two sisters and two brothers who were killed in the Sunday wreck had recently moved from New York City to Derby, Connecticut. The school system there says they had not yet enrolled.

Now, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families says it paid a "courtesy visit" to interview the children last month, based on an alleged incident that occurred in New York. The visit came at the request of New York Child Protective Services.

The Connecticut agency said, "There was nothing learned in the interviews which warranted further Connecticut DCF involvement."

The four died in the crash of a rental car early Sunday morning, along with 16-year-old Malik Smith, who police say he was driving without a license or permit.

They believe Smith, who lived in Brooklyn, may have been distracted, or fell asleep at the wheel.

Smith's father told CBS2 the boy liked to drive, but had been told repeatedly not to drive.

A wide-ranging investigation is underway to better understand all the factors in this complicated, tragic case.

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