Quantcast

Fatal Drunken Crash on Cross Island Parkway

2007_08_qcrash.jpgEight friends, two cars, and one fatality. Early yesterday morning, friends, piled into a Chevrolet Blazer and a Honda Civic, were crashed at "dead man's curve" on the Cross Island Parkway. A 19-year-old passenger was killed while the others were injured, two critically.

The drivers of the two vehicles were charged: 18-year-old Bolivar Camacho, driving the Civic, and 20-year-old Milton Flores, in the Blazer, were charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and vehicular assault; Flores was also charged with DWI.

The Daily News called Camacho's and Flores' driving a "drunken game of cat and mouse" and even created a graphic to show the route of the crash. Apparently Flores, whose Blazer had five other people in it, and Camacho, who had 1 other passengers, started "jockeying with each other as they gained speed" after getting on the Cross Island. At the curve near the Whitestone, the cars collided and the Blazer flipped over a number of times. John Reyes, who was in the Blazer, was killed and many of the passengers were thrown out of the car. Henry Hernandez, who was in one of the cars, told the News, "The next thing I know I'm in a car upside down."

A passenger in Comacho's Civic, Jonathan Garcia, told Newsday that the friends, who had been hanging out near Fort Totten, only had "two little cups" of Bacardi rum: "It wasn't enough to get drunk drunk." Amy Koo, 16, whose father is an NYPD sergeant, was critically injured with severe back injuries and a fractured skull, and Eider Valencia, 23, was paralyzed with spinal injuries.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

Comments [rss]

  • guest

    fyi: amy koo isnt asian

  • guest

    I posted about the seatbelts, and I was wondering if the kids who were tossed from the car were actually wearing them. If you have on a seatbelt, you won't be tossed. The other kids made it out fine.

    Thats all I am saying.

  • guest

    Although this doesn't matter at all, Amy Koo is not Asian she is a white girl from Astoria. I am disgusted at how casually you can discuss a tragedy like this. That girl is someones daughter and no matter who she was hanging out with or what they were doing she did not deserve that. This is not a joke it is real life, maybe if everyone realized how real this is and that it could just as easily happened to them or their families instead of laughing at all the "other people" these things happen to we would have less of these horrible traedies.

  • guest

    I honestly can't believe that one of the kids said "It wasn't enough to get drunk drunk." So it was enough to get you drunk, but not plastered... When it comes down to it, it's just another sad case of a tragedy happening due to people trying to prove something and driving while intoxicated. It could have happened anywhere, but at that turn, with all the other elements thrown into it, makes for some bad news. I honestly wonder where a group of kids, all under 21 except for one if I recall correctly, were going at 12:30am on a Monday night in Queens...and what kind of event that they could possibly get into required them to pregame 2 cups of Bacardi each right before sitting behind the wheel?

  • guest

    First off, Let's stop using the configuration of the turn on the roadway as an "Alternative excuse" here ! This accident was cause by a drunk driver and not the roadway ! I swear I fucking hate you "Ass Wipe"- Shit-Headed" drivers ! Just because you have personal problems doesn't give you all the right to get behind the wheel and cause havoc on the roads ! It's going to get to the point where as the laws will become so stringent that folks that take the privilege of driving will become impaired themselves ! All because of a group of drivers that can't seem to get this one thought through there heads . If your going out to a bar, OR you've been drinking, Do not drive home ! Get a friend too take you there, OR Use Public Transportation ! How simple is that ? Fuckin Retards ! Posted by; "Still Not Amused"

  • guest

    Poster #20 here: The street-racing jerk I worked with...was Asian. So much for all the comments.

  • laisla

    The=Their

  • laisla

    The race has nothing to do with it. Posting about such inane things takes away from the real issues. Why do the racist posters even bother?

    This was a tragedy no matter what the circumstances were.

  • guest

    Before the second sentence, I knew it was a Jen Chung post. Sad.

  • guest

    Now Koo will have the same IQ as all the Spanish kids.

    Alternatively, they'll have start calling Koo "Goo"!

  • guest

    I OWN that curve. It is a benchmark curve I use to test a cars handling. i negotiated it in a Mini Cooper S at about 75MPH. I was arrested for DWAI years ago, never drove after drinking again.

    Stupid kids, and yes that cute korean girl should not have been messin with the wetback

  • guest

    ms. koo's boyfriend had bravado, that's why she went out with him instead of a mousey mouse type who didn't have the bravado to ask pursuit her.

    now her brain is mushy mushy mushie mushie, domo aragato, mr. roboto.

  • guest

    Nappy headed Hispanics should not be allowed to drive. It's in the US constitution's new amendment.

  • guest

    I had a co-worker who used to talk on the phone with his buddies about how crazy they'd been racing their cars. In traffic. I was appalled at how ignorant they were.

    THen he was in a crash. Luckily the only people involved in it were he and his girlfriend. They both got hurt but lived.

    It was the only thing that put some sense in his head.

  • Ace

    Booze or not, what a tragedy. My heart goes out to the families of the deceased and injured.

  • guest

    Little Ms. Koo's boyfriend is (was?) 19 years old. She's 16. Her parents must have been thrilled about that too. Couldn't he go to jail if he diddled her?

  • schadenfreudian mensch

    "Seatbelts?"

    You were of course being sarcastic I hope #14.

  • guest

    that little asian chick Koo's parents must have been like "don't hang out with those spanish kids, They are bad news!" and she was all like "screw you! I wanna party and be cool!" and now she has brain damage and won't be able to walk anymore. Asian Parents are always right.

  • if people were taught to take a sharp turn at the apex, most crashes could definetly be averted. never hit the brakes on a turn (only before in a straight line) and ease up on throttle... after you pass apex, increase throttle and continue.

    Defensive driving should be mandatory for everyone...

  • guest

    Seatbelts?

blog comments powered by Disqus

send a tip

tips@gothamist.com