Monday, April 7, 2014

Driver in Queens creek wreck reached out to parent of dead friend: grandpa


 Photo of Andrew Gramm from his Facebook . Gramm was the driver of a car which plunged into Steinway Creek in Astoria and killed four of his passengers. April 4, 2014CAR / CRASH Facebook Andrew Gramm, 20, the driver of a car that plunged into Steinway Creek in Astoria, Queens, on Friday, killing his four passengers.

The grandfather of the young man who crashed his car into a Queens creek, killing his four friends, said Sunday the 20-year-old has reached out to one of his dead peers’ parents.


“The weight of it all might be a little heavy. He’s broke up about it,” said Gus Stuckey, speaking outside the 98th St. home in Elmhurst, Queens, that he and his wife share with their grandson, Andrew Gramm.


Stuckey would not say which parent Gramm contacted. Nor did he relay any content of the conversation.


Asked if his grandson was worried about possible criminal charges, Stuckey said, “We are all worried about it.”


Stuckey said Gramm remembered “a little” of what happened Friday night when his Honda Accord plunged into Steinway Creek and flipped onto its roof.




He’s broke up about it.




“He knows all about his friends,” Stuckey said. “Under the circumstances, he’s doing pretty well.”


Gramm was speeding when he lost control on wet pavement, cops said. His car jumped the curb before sliding down an embankment and flipping over into the water, police said.


The murky water was between 6 and 8 feet deep, cops said.


“It looks like he tried to make a U-turn on a wet road at too high of a rate of speed,” NYPD spokesman Sgt. Lee Jones said.


 Gus J Stuckey, grandfather of Andrew Gramm, speaks to reporters outside his home on 98th Street, Sunday, April 6, 2014, Queens, NY. (Jeff Bachner/for New York Daily News) Jeff Bachner for New York Daily News Gus Stuckey, grandfather of Andrew Gramm, speaks to reporters outside his home on 98th St. in Elmhurst, Queens, on Sunday.

Gramm called 911 after escaping from the wreck, cops said. Rescuers were there within minutes, but the four friends couldn’t be saved.


Gramm had no alcohol in his system, and cops said he had not been criminally charged.


Crystal Gravely, 19; Darius Fletcher, 21; Jada Butts, 19; and Jaleel Feurtado, 20 died in the wreck.


The two women and Fletcher were in the backseat, and Feurtado was in the front seat, cops said.




 Crystal Gravely, 19, and three of her young neighbors died when the car they were in plunged into Steinway Creek. Facebook Crystal Gravely, 19, and three of her young neighbors died when the car they were in plunged into Steinway Creek. CONFIRMED: Darius Fletcher from Facebook Darius Fletcher, 21, and three others drowned.  CONFIRMED: Jada Monique-Butts from her Facebook. She and 3 others were killed in an overturned car in the water in Queens, April 4, 2014. Facebook Jada Butts, 19, was one of the passengers in the backseat of the speeding Honda.  Jaleel Feurtado "Leel" from Facebook Facebook Jaleel Feurtado, 20, died in the wreck Friday night.


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The four victims drowned, the medical examiner’s office said.


The five friends all lived in the same East Elmhurst neighborhood.


Gravely had looked forward to celebrating her 20th birthday on Saturday.


DeMarco Price, a family friend, called Gramm “a great kid.”


NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiDebbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News

The Honda that Andrew Gramm was driving when he crashed into Steinway Creek, killing four of his friends.


Enlarge NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpiDebbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News


The Honda that Andrew Gramm was driving when he crashed into Steinway Creek, killing four of his friends.


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The Honda that Andrew Gramm was driving when he crashed into Steinway Creek, killing four of his friends.



“He’s absolutely saddened,” Price said.


Price added that Gramm had just started taking pharmacology classes at a college in Queens.


He said he knew all the friends and that he was trying to help their families, too.


“They are all great kids,” Price said. “They were like my nieces and nephews. All we can do is be strong for them.”


tmoore@nydailynews.com





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