Tom Brokaw, wife involved in tragic Bronx car accident that left one woman dead

BY Mike Jaccarino, Kevin Deutsch and Wil Cruz
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

A three-vehicle accident involving a car driven by Tom Brokaw sent a woman flying out of her SUV and off a Bronx expressway to her death, police sources said.

Suejaes Estrada, 30, fell 40 feet from the Bruckner Expressway near Amtrak train tracks in Hunts Point.

Brokaw and his wife, Meredith, escaped injury in the wreck.

"Neither Tom nor Meredith were injured, but tragically the driver of the SUV was thrown from her vehicle and killed," the former NBC anchor said in a statement.

"Tom and Meredith are greatly saddened by this loss of life."

The 1 p.m. crash was set in motion when Estrada tried to avoid debris on the northbound lanes, lost control and careened into the middle lane - sending a U.S. Postal Service mail truck swerving into Brokaw's lane.

"Tom hit the brakes hard and skidded along the median," his statement said. "When the mail truck catapulted the median, the Brokaw vehicle slid into it."

The postal driver, who was not identified, was treated for trauma. Brokaw, 69, and his wife were not hospitalized.

The crash tied up traffic for miles. Six Amtrak trains that run along the Northeast Corridor to Boston were out of service for more than an hour after Estrada landed on the tracks, a spokesman said.

A police source said Estrada, of the Bronx, was speeding. It was unclear whether she was wearing a seat belt.

No one was was charged, police said. Friends said Estrada, who worked as a dispatcher for a car service, was making a quick run to buy a gift for her boyfriend, Martin Pacheco.

"She had stepped out to go buy him a shirt," said Angel Rivera, 44, owner of the car service. "But she never made it home."

"It's heartbreaking. She's a sweetheart," said Lissa Rivera, 42, a fellow dispatcher. "She was supposed to work tonight."

Pacheco, peering over the railing and onto the tracks where his girlfriend died, was inconsolable Friday. Neighbors described the couple as inseparable.

"They were good to each other," said Moises Cornelius. "She was kind and friendly," Cornelius, 17, added. "She always gave you a smile."With Richard Huff.