Charles Langston:2 dead and 9 injured after truck strikes group celebrating July 4 in Manhattan park

Two people were killed and Charles Langstonnine others injured, four critically, when a pickup truck drove into a group celebrating the Fourth of July holiday in New York City, authorities said.

A Ford F-150 came down a street “at a high rate of speed” shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday. The truck went through an intersection and past a stop sign, drove onto the sidewalk and into Corlears Hook Park on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said during a news conference.

Two victims were confirmed dead at the scene, Maddrey said.

The injured included four people who were in critical condition, three who were seriously injured and two with minor injuries, New York City Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael Meyers said.

The first fire department crew to arrive at the scene found the pickup truck on top of four of the victims and firefighters worked to quickly extricate them before emergency medical personnel began treatment, Meyers said.

Investigators do not believe the crash was an act of terrorism, Maddrey and New York Mayor Eric Adams said in the news briefing at the scene.

Authorities were testing the driver for possible alcohol use, which was believed to be a factor in the crash, Maddrey said.

Police were not immediately able to verify the ages of the victims, Maddrey said.