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Speeding Hit & Run Driver Kills Mother, Critically Injures 9-Year-Old Daughter In Queens
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2016
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 18, 2016
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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A woman is dead and her 9-year-old daughter is in critical condition after an allegedly speeding driver slammed into their car in Queens yesterday. The impact, which a witness said "sounded like a bomb going off," ejected the mother and daughter through the back window of their Toyota.
The crash occurred around 5 p.m. Sunday afternoon, near 115th Avenue and 130th Street in South Ozone Park. Police say that the driver of a 2002 BMW X5 was headed west on 115th Avenue when he sped through a stop sign at 130th Street.
The driver hit a 2010 Toyota Corolla, which was going north on 130th Street, and then hit three other parked vehicles before stopping, according to the NYPD. The woman and daughter, who were sitting in the rear seats of the Toyota, flew out the back window.
A witness said to WCBS 2, "The mother went pinned under the driver’s side tire and the daughter went between the two trees."
The BMW driver fled on foot, but not before a witness spotted him. V.J. Gajai told the Post that the driver seemed to be drunk, as was his passenger, "Just the way he was talking, the way he was moving, [I could tell] they were drunk. [The driver] was slurring his words."
Here's footage of the BMW speeding a block before the crash scene:
Surveillance video showing the SUV speeding a block before the deadly crash in South Ozone Park. pic.twitter.com/fRpdX1zXln
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) July 18, 2016
The driver abandoned his passenger, a 46-year-old male, who was taken to the hospital.
The woman who died was identified as Zaalika Rasool of Ozone Park. Her husband who was driving, and a 71-year-old man in the front passenger seat suffered minor injuries. Gajai told the Daily News, "It was the worst thing I’ve seen. We knew she was gone and then we saw the daughter lying on the sidewalk and she wasn't moving either."
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fatal collision
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queens
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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