Teen Driver Charged After Washington Heights Crash Kills Two Passengers
At 6:38 a.m. at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street on July 3, 2023, police said a 16-year-old in a stolen Hyundai was involved in a crash that killed passengers Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17.
What We Know
The July 3, 2023 crash happened at 6:38 a.m. at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street in Manhattan, where the city record says two motorists were killed and four were injured. NYPD later said a 16-year-old was driving a stolen 2019 Hyundai Elantra with four teen passengers on Audubon Avenue when a 53-year-old driver in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with the Hyundai at West 179th Street. Police said the Hyundai driver then collided with parked vehicles and overturned. Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17, died at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, Gothamist reported. Police charged the 16-year-old with manslaughter and other offenses; the city crash record lists traffic-control disregard and unsafe speed for the Hyundai.
A morning crash at a Washington Heights intersection
The city crash record places the crash at 6:38 a.m. on July 3, 2023, at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street in Manhattan. It records two motorists killed and four motorists injured, with a sedan and an SUV involved in the moving crash.
The Daily News reported that a Hyundai Elantra was traveling north on Audubon Avenue and a Jeep was traveling west on West 179th Street before the collision. First responders removed five people from the Hyundai, and the Daily News reported that the Hyundai overturned after a parked car was hit.
Two teen passengers died, and four other people were injured
Gothamist identified the passengers who died as Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17, and reported that they were pronounced dead at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The city record identifies the two people killed as male rear-seat passengers, ages 15 and 17.
Police described a stolen Hyundai and a parked-car chain reaction
Gothamist reported that NYPD investigators said the 16-year-old was driving a stolen 2019 Hyundai Elantra with four teen passengers. The official record lists that Hyundai sedan as traveling north, with five occupants, and lists its driver as unlicensed.
Police said a 53-year-old driver in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee collided with the Hyundai as it crossed West 179th Street, Gothamist reported. Police also said the crash involved unoccupied parked vehicles, including a 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 2021 Audi Q3 and a 2016 Honda Accord.
The official record cites traffic-control disregard and unsafe speed
The city crash record lists traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor for the crash. For the Hyundai, the vehicle record lists traffic-control disregard and unsafe speed.
Where
Audubon Ave & West 179th St, Manhattan