Police Add Charges For Driver In Deadly Nassau Expressway Crash

Rahmel Watkins, a Brooklyn man that Nassau police say was one of two responsible for a deadly crash on Nassau Expressway earlier this month, is facing new charges for the crash that killed two.

Police announced on Monday that Watkins, 35, of Quincy Street, is additionally charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter. He was already charged with driving while intoxicated.

According to police, Watkins and Zakiyyah Steward, 25, of Park Avenue, Brooklyn, caused a crash on Nassau Expressway in Lawrence at 1:40 a.m. on April 4. Five cars were involved, and five people, including Steward and Watkins, were injured. One of the cars, occupied by Yisroel Levin, 21, of Brooklyn, and Elisheva Basya Kaplan, 20, of Far Rockaway, caught fire, and both Levin and Kaplan died.

Both Watkins and Steward were arrested on April 4. Steward was charged with driving while ability impaired by a combination of drugs and alcohol, driving while ability impaired by drugs, DWI and unlawful possession of marijuana.

Photo: Nassau County Police Department