Police charge teen driver after passenger killed in Crown Heights
Police said Ackeem Chambers, 18, fled a car stop before hitting another driver at Eastern Parkway and Rogers Avenue in Crown Heights, where the official record logged one death, four injuries and unsafe speed.
What We Know
Shortly after 2 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2022, police said Ackeem Chambers, 18, drove west on Eastern Parkway in a 2015 Hyundai Sonata after fleeing a car stop and hit a 2007 Toyota Solara headed north on Rogers Avenue. Jada Rollins, 18, was riding in the rear of the Sonata and was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital. Four other people were injured. The city crash record lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor, and police later charged Chambers with vehicular manslaughter and other offenses.
Police said the driver fled before the crash
Police said Ackeem Chambers, 18, was driving a 2015 Hyundai Sonata west on Eastern Parkway when he fled a car stop and hit a 2007 Toyota Solara headed north on Rogers Avenue at about 2:05 a.m. The official crash record places the collision at 2:09 a.m. at Eastern Parkway and Rogers Avenue.
Jada Rollins, 18, was riding in the rear of the Sonata. She was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The official record counted one motorist killed and four motorists injured.
The crash happened at a major Crown Heights intersection
The official record lists the crash in Brooklyn at Eastern Parkway and Rogers Avenue, in the 11216 ZIP code. News reports described the location as Crown Heights.
Five people were taken to the hospital
Police said Rollins and Chambers were taken to Kings County Hospital, where Rollins died. Chambers was reported in critical condition on the day of the crash, and a later account said he suffered minor injuries.
Two 19-year-old male passengers from the Sonata and the 61-year-old woman driving the Toyota Solara were also taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
Speed and traffic-signal allegations shaped the case
The city crash record lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor. Police also accused Chambers of traffic-signal violations after the crash.
Early reports said police had not immediately explained why officers tried to stop the Sonata. A later Daily News report said police tried to pull Chambers over for blowing through a traffic signal and that officers did not pursue him when he pulled away.