A man has been charged with criminally negligent homicide following the deaths of a young married couple and their newborn baby in a car accident on Sunday.

Julio Acevedo was arrested over the accident that killed Nachman and Raizy Glauber, from New York’s Satmar Chasidic community, as they were on their way to the hospital. Both 21, and married for only a short time, Mrs Glauber was 24 weeks pregnant.

Their baby boy was delivered by Caesarean weighing just 4lb after the crash, but died shortly afterwards of extreme prematurity.

The driver of the other car in the crash, who was said to be driving at 60 miles per hour, Julio Acevedo, initially fled the scene. He turned himself in on Wednesday to police in Pennsylvania.

He was charged on Thursday evening at the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn with criminally negligent homicide, three counts of assault, leaving the scene of a crash and reckless driving.

His lawyer said that while the couple’s deaths were “horrendous”, Mr Acevedo was not guilty of a crime. "It was an accident. Accidents happen every day," she said.

He will next appear in court on March 13, and could face a life sentence if he is convicted.