A Long Island driver burned to death early Thursday when his car burst into flames after smashing into a historic Quaker meeting house — and cops are not ruling out the crash was a potential hate crime.
The unidentified SUV operator swerved off the road at high speed and crashed into the Quaker Society of Friends Meeting House in Manhasset off Northern Boulevard in Nassau County just before 6 a.m., instantly engulfing the vehicle in flames, authorities said.
The white car was registered to a 41-year-old man from New Rochelle in Westchester County, but authorities could not confirm if the owner was behind the wheel at the time.
Cops said they are investigating why the driver swerved into the historic building and refused to rule anything out, including whether the incident could have been a targeted attack or a hate crime.
Arson investigators and the county bomb squad were on the scene backing up the fire marshal and detectives.
The fire from the car badly damaged the left side of the building.
The meeting-house site dates back to 1650, when a structure was originally built there and obtained by local colonial Quakers in 1703.
The meeting house burned down during the Revolutionary War but was rebuilt in the 1800s, and the property is also home to Long Island’s oldest and largest oak tree.
The site is listed in the US National Register of Historic Places.
“It’s a special place,” said Dick Lopez, a member of the Quaker community, to CBS News.
He said the home is used as a religious meeting place and a home-schooling center for local Quakers and a variety of art and culture programs the community holds.
Firefighters from four departments responded to the scene: The Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department first and then firefighters from Port Washington, Plandome and Great Neck.
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