The 16-year-old driver who was involved in a fiery crash in New York that killed him and four young cousins ​​did not have a learner’s license, his father said.

The father of a 16-year-old Brooklyn boy who drove an SUV that crashed on New York’s Hutchinson River Boulevard, killing the teen and four young relatives, said family members warned him not to drive without a license.

CBS asked Malik Smith’s dad if he knew his son, also named Malik, drives a car even without a driver’s license.

“Yes, it was,” Smith said. “I told him, his mother told him, his older brothers told him stop driving without a license, without a permit. Whatever happens, you will be stopped, you will be in trouble for these things. Stop doing it.”

Five young people died in a crash on Scarsdale’s Hutchinson River Boulevard early Sunday morning, police said.

Westchester County Police on Monday identified the victims as Anthony Billips, 17; Malik Smith, 16; Zania Cross, 12; Shonell Cross, 11; and Andrew Billips, 8.

According to his father, the driver lived in East New York, Brooklyn. According to Connecticut authorities, his cousins ​​recently moved to Derby.

They were driving north on the boulevard when their Nissan Rogue veered off the boulevard and crashed into a tree north of the Mamaroneck Road exit, catching fire, Westchester County Police said.

Only a 9-year-old boy survived. According to police, the driver did not exceed the speed limit.

The grieving father said the young men in the SUV were Malik’s cousins, but as close as siblings. “They were more like brothers. Brothers and sisters, that’s how close they are, ”Smith said in an interview with the TV channel.

They often spent their weekends at the local mall.

“That’s his business. He goes to the mall. He goes for ice cream with his cousin. They go to the cinema. They walk around the mall. You know, they do what teenagers and kids do,” Smith said.

“I didn’t know he was driving alone,” he added.

The crash is still under investigation.