MONTICELLO, NY — A five-year-old child was ejected from a pick-up truck in an accident on Route 17 at exit 105 in Monticello on September 3. The child, Charkeilys Viera, 5, was ejected from the cab of the 1998 GMC pickup truck and died.

According to the Sullivan County Sheriff’s office, the pickup had been heading west on Route 17, when it crossed the center median and struck a 2010 Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck that was heading eastbound.

The male driving the GMC pickup was Carmelo Viera, 50, of Rochester. Also in the cab was a 14-year-old female, Charleilys Viera. Those two were transported to Westchester Medical Center by helicopter and were said to be in critical condition.

Police say the family had recently moved from the Bronx to Rochester and were transporting household goods in the bed of the pickup. A child’s car seat was also found in the bed of the pickup, and none of the people in the cab appeared to have been wearing a seatbelt.

Four people were in the Chevrolet Avalanche. The vehicle was being driven by Robert Coletti, 54, of Nesconset. His wife Gina, 53, was with him in the pickup truck, along with daughters Lauren, 17, and Jacklyn, 15. Three of them were treated at Orange Regional Medical Center and later released, while Gina may have suffered fractured ribs.

Responding to the incident were Sullivan County coroner Alan Kesten, the Monticello Fire Department, Mobile Medic, Life Flight, Monticello Police and New York State Police, with assistance from the NYSP Crash Reconstruction Unit.

Sullivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff said, “This was a horrific end to the holiday weekend. The accident occurred in one of the few spots on Route 17 that does not have a center median barrier.”