The intersection of Union Turnpike and Parsons Boulevard (Google Maps)
Nov. 24, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
An alleged drunk driver has been charged with manslaughter for killing a hospital worker in a high-speed crash in Kew Gardens Hills last week.
Alamin Ahmed, 22, was driving a Mercedes Benz at a rapid rate of speed along Union Turnpike at around 4:15 a.m. Friday before smashing into the victim while entering the intersection at Parsons Boulevard.
His Mercedes slammed into 52-year-old Daniel Crawford, who was driving a Toyota Camry along Parsons Boulevard, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Ahmed, who is from Albany, was arraigned Saturday on manslaughter charges, criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“Few choices are more selfish than driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” Katz said. “In this case, the defendant is accused of getting behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol and criminally disregarding the rules of the road with tragic, deadly results.”
Crawford, a New Jersey resident, was driving southbound on Parsons Boulevard and was entering the Union Turnpike intersection with a green light.
Ahmed, according to the charges, was traveling at a speed of 97 mph eastbound on Union Turnpike in a silver 2016 Mercedes Benz when he T-boned into Crawford’s Toyota at the intersection.
Ahmed then lost control of his vehicle and hit a parked Ford Fusion which was unoccupied, according to police.
Crawford was transferred to Queens Hospital Center – the hospital where he worked – where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. He had worked at the hospital as a phlebotomist drawing and testing blood samples and assisted with COVID-19 cases, according to the New York Daily News.
Police breathalyzed Ahmed at the scene and found his blood alcohol content was above the New York State legal limit of .08, Katz said.
Ahmed faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Ahmed was held on a $25,000 cash, $25,000 bond and $250,000 partially secured bail by Queens Criminal Court Judge Gene Lopez and was ordered to return to court on Nov. 25.
