Driver dies in high-speed Flatbush Avenue crash
A driver was killed at 1:44 a.m. on Flatbush Avenue, where city records list unsafe speed and news reports citing police said he had taken a Honda Civic shortly before the high-speed crash.
What We Know
A driver died in an early-morning crash on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. City records place the crash at Flatbush Avenue and East 35th Street at 1:44 a.m. and list one motorist killed, with unsafe speed and driver inattention or distraction recorded for the southbound Honda sedan. News outlets, citing police, reported that the driver had taken a Honda Civic shortly before the crash and was traveling at high speed before crashing near Avenue J. The official record lists the driver as 25; several news reports described him as 41. Reports said EMS took him to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and no other injuries were reported.
A high-speed crash before 2 a.m.
The city crash record places the fatal crash at Flatbush Avenue and East 35th Street at 1:44 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2025, and records one motorist killed and no other injuries.
News reports citing police said the driver had taken a Honda Civic shortly before the crash and sped south on Flatbush Avenue. Several outlets reported that the impact tore the sedan apart and damaged a building; News 12 reported that witnesses said the driver went onto the sidewalk before the crash.
Records and reports disagree on the driver's age
The official person record lists the driver who died as a 25-year-old man. Multiple news reports citing police described the driver as a 41-year-old man.
ABC7 reported that a Lyft driver named Ali said the man first demanded his phone, then got behind the wheel when Ali unlocked the Honda Civic. NBC New York reported that the owner said he had left the car running while stopping for cash.
Speed was recorded as a contributing factor
The city vehicle record lists unsafe speed and driver inattention or distraction for the southbound sedan, and it records the driver as unlicensed. News reports also described the crash as high-speed.
Police were still investigating the sequence before the crash, according to News 12 and NBC New York. FOX 5 reported that police were investigating whether the vehicle was stolen, while other outlets reported that police sources said it was stolen.
Flatbush Avenue has a long crash record
The crash was recorded at Flatbush Avenue and East 35th Street in Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC's Flatbush Avenue corridor data show 2,981 crashes, 1,956 injuries, 125 serious injuries and 10 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
The driver died at Kings County Hospital
Audacy, News 12, ABC7 and NBC New York reported that EMS took the driver to Kings County Hospital or NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, where he was pronounced dead. Audacy reported that no other injuries were reported in the theft or the crash.