Crime & Safety
Man Pleads Guilty To Fatally Striking Uber Driver On Long Island Expressway
The Uber driver was tending to his disabled vehicle when he was fatally struck by an intoxicated driver last year, the DA said.
A Queens man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges related to a Long Island Expressway crash that killed an Uber driver who was stopped on the Long Island Expressway in April 2016, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.
Bonifacio Enriquez, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. The NCDA recommended a sentence of 3 to 9 years in prison.
On April 7, 2016, Uber driver Roohul Ameen, 43, was driving a Toyota Camry in the eastbound HOV lane, near Exit 41 in Jericho, when he hit the median, stepped out of the car to tie up his bumper and was then struck by a silver Ford Escape and a blue Nissan Altima at 2:05 a.m. The driver of the Nissan Altima remained on the scene.
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Police then placed Enriquez, the driver of the the Ford SUV, into custody for a DWI investigation and charged him later that day. The DA said Enriquez's BAC calculated to be at least .12.
The DA said Enriquez was driving 69 mph as he approached Ameen's vehicle, which was disabled in a straight portion of the roadway with its hazard lights on. Enriquez attempted to pass the disabled vehicle a half second before impact by trying to drive between the Camry and the concrete median, the DA said. The SUV struck the Camry on the rear driver's side panel, continued forward and struck Ameen, who was thrown into the left lane and killed.
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Ameen succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by a Nassau County Police Medic.
“A motorist tending to a disabled vehicle should not have to fear for his life because of the intoxication and recklessness of a fellow driver,” Singas said in a press release. “I am saddened by the senseless and preventable death of Roohul Ameen who was an innocent and hard-working father driving home to his family, and I hope that this guilty plea will provide some small comfort to his loved ones.”
Enriquez is due back for sentencing on September 12, 2017.
Image via NCDA
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