Three teenagers have tragically died after a car they were in crashed and overturned in the woods.
Police have described the incident as an "absolute tragedy" as they are now trying to determine the causes of the crash.
Witnesses reported seeing a car speeding before it overturned multiple times at 9:45pm on Wednesday on Long Island, New York.
Sixteen-year-old driver Cem Gunes was behind the wheel of his mother’s car and only had a learner’s permit, Suffolk County police have confirmed.
One of the passengers in the 2009 Infiniti G37 was ejected from the vehicle in the horror crash, which happened in Holtsville, a h amlet on Long Island, police added.
Authorities added that, tragically, Gunes and the two passengers, 17-year-old Taylor Beltramini of Moriches and 18-year-old Landon Kromhout Auditore of Mastic, were pronounced dead at the scene.
No one else was in the car.
Cops have gone on to say that it is unlikely Gunes and Beltramini were wearing seatbelts because they were tossed from the car.
However, it remains unclear whether Auditore - who remained inside the vehicle after the crash - was wearing one.
Suffolk Police Department Inspector Darrell Simmons told reporters Thursday: “Witnesses tried to assist in every way possible.
“It was a horrific accident and I’m sure they did everything they could.”
He went on to add: “It’s terrible. We’re all parents; we have young kids that drive.
“It’s an absolute tragedy, especially around Christmas.”
As Gunes only had a learner’s permit, officials say that he was not supposed to be driving the car without someone who was at least 21-years-old and held a driver's license.
Tributes have poured in for the teens following the accident.
Adriana Barrington, who was Gunes’ girlfriend, said she was “speechless”.
She went to the crash scene on Thursday, where she collected a notebook and a sneaker belonging to him from the crash scene, report News 12.
Adriana said: “I was supposed to spend all of Christmas break with him and now he’s just, he’s gone."
The trio all went to high schools in the area, with Beltramini and Auditore supposed to graduate in January and June, respectively.
Police are now trying to determine exactly how fast Gunes was driving, including where they were coming from and where they were travelling to.
