Jul. 6, 2023 By Julia Moro
An Albany man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the drag-racing crash in Kew Gardens Hills that killed a hospital staffer who was on his way to work in November of 2020
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on July 6 that that Alamin Ahmed, of Central Avenue in Albany, pleaded guilty in May to manslaughter and assault. A Queens Supreme County Justice imposed a seven-year sentence for the assault charge and two to six years for manslaughter, also followed by a two-year post-release supervision. Co-defendant Mir Fahmid is still awaiting sentencing.
“These men used the streets of Queens as a racetrack with tragic consequences: A health care worker going in to start his shift in the midst of the pandemic lost his life. These two men are being held accountable for their deadly recklessness,” Katz said.
According to the charges, in the early morning of Nov. 20, 2020, the defendants attended a party in Brooklyn to celebrate Fahmid’s birthday. After the party, they drove their cars to a gas station on Main Street and Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens Hills to get gas. After that, the two were seen on surveillance footage lining their cars up at a red light and racing down Union Turnpike as the signal turned green.
Ahmed and Fahmid sped through two solid red lights, according to the DA. Daniel Crawford, 52, was going to work at Queens Hospital Center. As he was driving southbound on Parsons Boulevard, his Toyota was T-boned at the intersection of Parsons Boulevard and Union Turnpike by Ahmed, who was driving a silver Mercedes-Benz, and Fahmid, who was driving a red Honda Accord. Both were driving over 90 miles per hour,a ccording to the charges.
Fahmid, 25, of 168th Place in Jamaica, also pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 22.
Crawford suffered an “internal decapitation,” according to the charges, and was rushed to the hospital — where he worked — and was pronounced dead.
Ahmed showed signs of intoxication and was tested, revealing his blood alcohol level was .094%, which is over the DWI threshold of .08%. Fahmid fled the scene and was arrested two years later, according to the DA.