Driver killed 3 friends in crash in Queens, New York: arrested 3 years later
A 27-year-old man was arrested yesterday almost three years after the road accident that killed three of his friends in Queens (NYC) when his car hit a tree and caught fire. He was reportedly intoxicated and speeding.
Adama Diakite, 27, was arrested nearly three years after a car crash that killed three of his friends in Queens (NYC) when his car hit a tree and caught fire.
Diakite was arrested yesterday following a grand jury indictment for aggravated vehicular manslaughter and criminal negligence, among other charges, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Diakite was behind the wheel of a Nissan Altima carrying Dior Berkeley (19), Kimani Foster (20) and Ali Mohammed (21) at 3:50 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2020, when the red sedan crashed into a tree on North Conduit Avenue. near 122nd Street in South Ozone Park.
Diakite was the only survivor. Berkeley, Foster and Mohammed died at the scene. Prosecutors believe the driver was intoxicated and speeding at the time of the crash, court documents show.
A Brooklyn man was arrested following a grand jury indictment for a crash that killed two women and a young father in Queens three years ago.https://t.co/av7qRycAqx
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 1, 2023
The defendant was friends with the three passengers who died, the Daily News recalled. Neighbors said at the time that the impact woke them up and that the car was accelerating when it hit the curb and “went airborne” before crashing into a tree.
All charges are mere accusations and the persons being prosecuted are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
New York authorities remind that there is zero tolerance for drivers who speed and/or get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Two weeks ago former FDNY firefighter Joseph Norris was sentenced for drunk driving and killing a Queens teacher who was engaged to be married by hitting him head-on in Long Island (NY) in November 2020.
Last month it was announced that a nine-year-old girl will receive $4 million from the trucking company blamed for her father’s death, even though he was in a car driven by a drunk friend. But a Brooklyn (NYC) judge ruled that the trucker was also at fault for making an unsafe turn.
Also in July, Errick Persaud (24) was charged with drunk driving and causing the death of Michael Rodriguez (38), a NYC city employee who was a passenger in a truck in Queens.