Driver Charged In Crash That Killed 2 On Grand Central Parkway
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A driver has been slapped with multiple felony charges, after two people were killed, and four more were injured, in a crash on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens early Saturday.
Madosh Hansraj, 20, was charged with two counts of manslaughter, one count of felony assault, two counts of criminally negligent homicide, and driving while ability impaired, and also ticketed for speeding and illegal speed, police said. He was believed to be intoxicated.
As CBS 2's Janelle Burrell reported, the crash happened just before 4 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of the parkway about a quarter mile west of Exit 19, in Jamaica Estates, Queens.
The ferocious crash hit with so much force that the front end of the four-door Honda Civic was let about 100 feet from where the car landed. Hansraj was taken into custody later Saturday morning with minor injuries.
Crash Leaves 2 Dead On Grand Central Parkway
But three people sitting in the back of the car were ejected. Two – a young man identified as Anil Persaud, 18, and young woman identified as Meera Dukharan, 17 – were pronounced dead at the scene. A third was taken to New York Hospital Queens in serious condition.
Two others besides the driver were also injured, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported. A fourth rear passenger -- a 21-year-old man -- and a front passenger -- a 19-year-old man -- were both taken to New York Hospital Queens with minor injuries.
Both of the dead were ejected from the back seat and wound up on either side of the center divider.
Before the crash the group of friends had been hanging out at a pool hall on Lefferts Boulevard, investigators called the crash a result of shocking disregard for life on the part of the driver.
The driver was drunk and was reportedly speeding before losing control of the car and hitting a guardrail.
"There was a lot of honking and screeching," said Angel Capellian, who lives near the scene.
The car ended up in the wrong direction on the parkway.
The entire front end of the Honda Civic was sheared off, and the engine wound up on one side of the parkway and a tire on the other – with the main body of the car in the middle of the road.
The driver walked away from the scene.
Persaud and Dukhraran left behind a baby, 14-month-old Mia Persaud, she is being taken care of by her heartbroken family.
"For my little brother left now and gone, I'm the one facing it now cause I've got to be strong for my family," Ricky Persaud told CBS 2's Dave Carlin.
Capellian said it is a stretch of roadway known for speeding.
"This area is extremely dangerous. This stretch – for like 300 yards or something like that – it has been the place of so many accidents," he said.
All eastbound lanes of the Grand Central Parkway were closed after the accident. Two westbound lanes were also closed.
The Grand Central Parkway incident was one of two fatal crashes in the Tri-State Area early Saturday. In the Long Island community of Melville, Ray Vega, 18; and his passenger, Carmen Rivera-Gotay, 17, were killed when the car Vega was driving jumped the curb and slammed into a tree.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
