Driver Indicted After Pedestrian Killed on Northern Boulevard
A driver in a 2017 Chevy SUV hit and killed 74-year-old pedestrian Eric Wexler at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street in Queens, and prosecutors later charged Salvatore Sassone with criminally negligent homicide.
What We Know
Eric Wexler, 74, was killed the night of June 11, 2025, while crossing Northern Boulevard at 217th Street in Queens. Police initially said a 47-year-old driver in a 2017 Chevy Tahoe was heading east when he hit Wexler, who suffered head and body trauma and died at North Shore Manhasset Hospital. The driver remained at the scene, and no charges were filed at first. Months later, prosecutors identified the driver as Salvatore Sassone and alleged he was speeding and impaired by alcohol. Sassone was indicted on charges including criminally negligent homicide, driving while under the influence of alcohol, failure to exercise due care, speeding, and unlicensed driving.
A late-night crossing turned fatal
The official crash record places the crash at 10:04 p.m. on June 11, 2025, at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street in Queens. It records one pedestrian killed and no other injuries.
Police told Patch that Eric Wexler was crossing at the corner when a 47-year-old man driving a 2017 Chevy Tahoe east on Northern Boulevard hit him. Wexler was taken to North Shore Manhasset Hospital with head and body trauma and was pronounced dead there. The driver remained at the scene, and police initially said no charges had been filed.
Eric Wexler was the pedestrian who died
Police identified the pedestrian as Eric Wexler, 74. The Daily News reported that he lived in Glen Oaks, Queens, about four miles from where he died.
The Daily News reported that police said Wexler was not in the crosswalk and was crossing against the light. The official person record describes him as a pedestrian crossing at an intersection.
Northern Boulevard at 217th Street
The official record and police accounts place the crash at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street in Queens. Prosecutors’ account in amNY said Wexler was crossing Northern Boulevard from north to south at 217th Street as the driver headed east toward the Cross Island Parkway.
News accounts described the neighborhood differently: the Daily News called the location Cambria Heights, while amNY described the case as a Bayside fatal collision. The official record lists the crash in Queens ZIP code 11361.
Prosecutors later brought homicide and DWI charges
According to the indictment described by amNY, prosecutors alleged Sassone was speeding on Northern Boulevard while impaired by alcohol when he hit Wexler. Sassone was released on his own recognizance and ordered to return to court on Jan. 29.