Two people are in custody after a suspected drag race in Staten Island ended in a crash that killed one person and injured four others early Sunday morning.
According to an NYPD spokesperson, the crash happened around 2:15 a.m. on the northbound side of the West Shore Expressway in Rossville. Two cars, a Dodge Charger and a Honda Pilot, were speeding on the expressway when the Honda collided into a box truck.
A 39-year-old man who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Dodge Charger was severely injured and taken to Staten Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Four other people were injured as a result of the crash and were taken to Richmond University Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. The passengers riding in the truck were not seriously injured and refused medical attention.
Police are trying to determine whether the drivers of the two cars were racing and whether they were driving while intoxicated. SI Live reports that police believe the driver of the Charger was racing down the highway, but the driver of the Pilot was not—a second car believed to have been involved in the race was gone by the time officers arrived on the scene. Both men are in custody and charges against them are pending.
Update: 3:23 p.m.: According to the NYPD, the driver of the Dodge Charger rear-ended the Honda, which sent the latter car careening into a box truck. The Dodge then hit an overhead light on the right shoulder and overturned.
Dennis White, a 32-year-old man who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Charger, died as a result of the crash. Jermaine Simmons, the driver of the Charger, has been arrested and charged with driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 of 1% and aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle.
The driver of the Honda, Hernan Zhagui, was also arrested and charged with a DWI.
According to the Daily News, Simmons suffered minor injuries to his face, neck, and hands and Zhagui's shoulder was injured in the crash.
