UPDATE: Passenger in Turnpike Crash Died at Scene

The car accident that occurred Tuesday morning in West Hempstead claimed the life of a 28-year-old woman.

Nassau County Police say Herica Contreras, of Uniondale, was a passenger in the vehicle that slammed into a building on Hempstead Turnpike around 5:35 a.m. The driver, Daritza Lopez, 18, had been operating the vehicle in the eastbound lane of the turnpike when she lost control, struck a parked car and crossed over the westbound lane, police reported. The car then entered a parking lot of an abandoned gas station and struck the side wall of a building at 130 Hempstead Turnpike.

Contreras was pronounced dead at the scene and Lopez was transported to a local hospital. She faces second degree manslaughter charges, DWI and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. She will be arraigned as soon as it is medically practical.

Traffic was closed on Hempstead Turnpike and Westminster Road until 11:30 a.m. while an accident investigation was conducted. Many students had a diifcult time getting to St. Thomas the Apostle School in the morning as police had closed four blocks surrounding the school.

Stay with Patch for more developments.