TWO DRAG RACING ACCIDENTS = TWO DEAD BROOKLYN MEN
From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn Queens Bronx; Queens Accident Lawyer)
Drag racing blamed for fatal Queens crash that kills Brooklyn dad
Drag racing is to blame for a horrific crash in Queens that left one man dead and another critically injured on Monday, November 29, 2010, police sources said.
Geraud Gray, 24, of Brooklyn, lost control of his 2003 black Nissan Maxima while traveling westbound in the center lane along North Conduit Avenue near 78th Street in Ozone Park, on a curve, slamming into a pole on North Conduit Ave. near 78th St. in Ozone Park about 10:16 a.m. yesterday, authorities said.
The car flipped over onto its roof, skidded along the roadway and jumped the curb, where it smashed into and sheared two telephone poles, leaving the car crumpled, witnesses said.
Witnesses reported he was speeding and driving erratically on a stretch of North Conduit Ave. that's a hot spot for drag-racing, cops said Police estimate the vehicle was traveling in excess of 90 mph, sources said.
"The car was smoking. All you saw were desperate hands, coming out, waving for help," said Consuelo Aviles, 47, who witnessed the wreck while driving to work.
"The impact was so bad, we tried to help everyone but didn't know where to start. The only thing I was able to do was call 911."
Two men were in the vehicle. The driver was taken to Brookdale hospital where he was listed in critical condition, sources said. Amazingly, an 18-year-old man in the passenger seat somehow survived and is in stable condition at Brookdale University Hospital, authorities said. His
name was not released.
The male passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Neighbors said racing is nothing new to the area.
"People want to drive like maniacs. They speed-race here every day. And every year, someone gets killed," said Latoya Medford, 24, who lives nearby.
The name of the dead passenger was being withheld by police pending notification of family.
Two other vehicles involved in the race never stopped, witnesses said.
Drunk driver possibly drag racing kills 25-year-old Brooklyn yeshiva student
The victim was driving a red Mercury Sable north on Ocean Ave. when he was struck by a southbound black Volkswagen (below) that crossed the double yellow line, cops said.
A 25-year-old Brooklyn yeshiva student, Moshe Berkowitz, was killed when his car was struck by a drunken driver who may have been drag racing, police sources and a witness said.
The crash occurred on Ocean Ave. near Avenue N just after 11:35 p.m. on Monday, November 29, 2010, police said.
The victim was driving a red Mercury Sable north on Ocean Ave. when he was struck by a southbound black Volkswagen Passat that crossed the double yellow line, cops said.
The victim was rushed to Maimonides Hospital, where he died a short time later. The driver was taken to nearby Kings County Hospital.
The suspect and a woman in the car with him were taken to the same hospital with minor injuries, police said. The driver's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit of .08, sources said, and he is expected to be charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.
A witness to the aftermath of the crash said the suspect and his passenger reeked of booze.
