Seven people, including three children, were killed on Sunday as a Honda Pilot SUV flipped over a guardrail and plunged up to 60 feet to the ground in New York City, CNN quoted a police spokesman as saying.

The vehicle landed upside down in an area of the Bronx Zoo that is closed to the public.

“The vehicle hit the median and went across all lanes of traffic in the opposite direction,” the spokesman said, adding that the drop from the ramp was "substantial."

All the victims were inside the SUV, NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.

It was not clear what caused the vehicle to strike the barrier and plunge off the road, but Browne said the driver could have been speeding when the SUV’s left side hit the barrier, prompting the driver to make a hard right turn and cross three lanes of traffic before striking the curb and plunging to the ground.