3 dead, 7 injured after driver plows into July Fourth celebration in NYC

July 5 (UPI) -- Three people died and seven others were injured when an alleged drunk driver plowed into a crowd of people attending a Fourth of July celebration on the Lower East Side of New York City on Thursday, police said.

Authorities identified two of the dead as Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son, Hernan, 38, who lived together close to where the crash happened.

Police said the suspect, a 44-year-old man, allegedly drove a Ford F-160 over a sidewalk into Corlears Hook Park to hit the group of people. The suspected driver remained in custody with charges pending, police said.

Authorities said Good Samaritans held the driver at the scene until police arrived.

"Responding officers who did arrive on the scene did smell some alcohol, but we are still in the process of doing testing," said Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, of the New York Police Department, according to CBS News.

Police transported the driver to Bellevue Hospital before the arrest, while the victims were taken to Bellevue, New York Presbyterian, Mount Sinai Beth Israel and New York University Langone.

Four of the victims were "clinging to life," New York Fire Department Chief Michael Myers told the New York Post.