Family raising funds to bury five killed in Long Island crash

Relatives of five family members killed in a crash on the Southern State Parkway in North Babylon last Saturday have created a fund to help cover the estimated $50,000 cost of the burials.

"We're doing OK," said Mayerline Moise, 26, a cousin from Hempstead. "We're up to $18,000."

Killed were driver Myriam Lebrun, 37, her mother, Marie Rose Yolande Moise, 68, and Lebrun's three children, Marquis Jeanty, 14, Marcel Jeanty, 9, and Kayla Jeanty, 8, all of Brooklyn.

The cause of the crash, in which Lebrun drove off the road after leaving a family function in Brentwood, is under investigation.

State Police investigator Charles Knapp said last week that authorities are trying to determine whether speed and alcohol were factors in the fatal crash, which occurred shortly before 11 p.m.

Lebrun's 1998 Honda Accord was headed westbound toward Brooklyn when it veered off the roadway near Exit 38 and erupted into flames on impact with a tree, police said.

Relatives at the party told investigators that Lebrun had had a few drinks during the night but did not eat, Knapp said. The relatives said they did not think she was intoxicated, he said.

The Lebrun family announced the fund on Friday at New York city hall, with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who could not be reached Saturday for comment.

"We're not there yet, but we will be," Moise said.

Donations to the family's GoFundMe website can be made at www.gofundme.com/dhyelc.