Police report: Children killed in Hutchinson River Parkway crash were spotted possibly panhandling
NEW YORK -- It has been one month since five children died in a terrible crash on the Hutchinson River Parkway.
CBS2 has learned investigators believe the kids may have been panhandling at a shopping center before the accident.
It was one of the worst accidents in Westchester County history. Six children ages 8 to 17 were traveling in a rental vehicle with no adult supervision when it ran off the road, hit a tree, and caught fire.
It happened just after midnight as the children were returning to Connecticut from a trip to New Jersey.
Five of them died -- sisters, Zahnyiah and Shawnelll Cross, their half-brothers, A.J. and Andrew Billips, and the unlicensed driver, 16-year-old Malik Smith Jr.
CBS2 has learned investigators have obtained surveillance video from a New Jersey shopping center, showing the children hours before the crash interacting with people in a way that suggests they were panhandling. CBS2 has also learned of an August 2022 incident in Milford, Connecticut, involving the Billips and Cross children.
READ MORE: Child welfare agencies paid visit to families of children killed in Hutchinson River Parkway crash
Police were called to a parking lot on Boston Post Road on a report of children asking people for money and food.
One of the children was A.J. Billips, who died in the crash on the Hutch. The incident report says A.J. initially gave police a fake name and birthdate and was "extremely guarded and not willing to offer up much information." The report also says "the younger children were his siblings... (they) appeared nervous."
The police report says the children claimed to be raising money for a youth basketball team.
According to the report, the children had papers saying the team was the "Lynden Tigers" spelled L-Y-N-D-E-N. CBS2 has been unable to find records for any such team. "Tigers" is the mascot for schools in Linden, New Jersey. The superintendent told CBS2 he has no record of the any of the children ever attending classes there.
"Where was the adult supervision in this case?" wondered Phil Grimaldi, a retired NYPD detective.
Grimaldi is co-host of the "Police Off the Cuff" podcast.
"Number one question for the parents would be did you know the children were panhandling, asking for money for an alleged sports team?" Grimaldi said.
In that 2022 incident, Milford police called the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, which facilitated their return home.
Seven months later, DCF is again looking at the family.
The Billips and Cross children lived in Derby at the time of the accident. Local schools say the kids were not enrolled.
DCF would comment due to an ongoing investigation.
Meanwhile, Westchester County police are in the final stages of their probe of the actual accident. All signs point to the unlicensed driver, Smith, falling asleep at the wheel.
CBS2 tried reaching out to Anthony Billips Sr. for comment, but has not heard back.
