NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Long Island man was indicted Wednesday in a road rage crash that caused the death of a passenger in a for-hire Lyft SUV on the Long Island Expressway in Queens last August.
Shaqeem Douglas, 26, of Freeport, was arraigned Tuesday on an indictment charging him with manslaughter, assault, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, tampering with physical evidence, reckless driving and driving too slow, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
According to the charges, at approximately 3 p.m. on Aug. 14, video surveillance footage showed a gray Honda sedan driven by Douglas traveling on the Long Island Expressway just west of the Van Wyck Expressway.
The car was following closely behind a yellow Toyota SUV operating as a Lyft, with two passengers, including Pradeppa Desai, 41, in the left lane of the LIE, prosecutors said.
In an effort to pass the Toyota, Douglas moved to the center lane and right lane before going back to the left lane and cutting in front of the SUV.
Douglas began to slow down despite there being no vehicle directly in front of him. The driver of the Toyota moved to the center lane to avoid the slowing Honda driven by Douglas, who then moved the Honda to the center lane in front of the SUV and came to a complete stop, despite there being no obstructions in front of it.
As the Toyota was forced to come to a stop behind the Honda, the driver of a Jeep Wrangler, which was traveling at a normal speed, attempted to go around the two vehicles unexpectedly stopped in the center lane.
The Jeep hit the rear of the SUV which, in turn, rear ended the Honda. The Jeep rolled onto its side and came to rest on the right shoulder of the highway.
Douglas fled the scene in the Honda, which suffered considerable damage to its rear in the collision. Douglas pulled off the highway and parked on Waldron Street where, according to video surveillance, three men exited the vehicle, and Douglas removed a piece of a yellow bumper from the rear bumper of the Honda and threw the piece on the sidewalk, authorities said.
He also removed the rear bumper from the Honda and discarded it before getting back in the car and driving away.
Desai, who was in New York on a business trip, was in the back seat of the SUV along with another passenger, was taken to a local hospital with severe head and body trauma. He died later that day.
A gray Honda Accord with a missing rear bumper was recovered on Aug. 16 in the driveway of the defendant’s Freeport home.
Douglas’ girlfriend, Ariana Seratan, 26, of Freeport, is the registered owner of the Honda, made a false report to her insurance company claiming she was driving the car and that it was rear ended by another vehicle that left the scene, officials said.
Seratan was also arraigned in connection with the crash on charges of falsifying business records and insurance fraud.
If convicted, Douglas faces up to 15 years in prison and Seratan faces up to four years.
They were both ordered to return to court Nov. 20.
"The defendant is accused of driving with a conscious disregard for others and as a result caused the death of a visitor to our city, a 41-year-old husband and father. Road rage has no place on highways or on our streets. We will hold responsible those who, out of selfishness or out of anger, put others on our roads in harm’s way," D.A. Katz said.