An Albany man was sentenced on Thursday to seven years in jail for killing a Queens hospital worker while driving drunk during a 97 mph drag race.
Alamin Ahmed, 25, pleaded guilty in May to manslaughter and assault charges following the November 2020 crash that killed Daniel Crawford, a 52-year-old new grandfather and lab technician from New Jersey.
Crawford, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, was on his way to an early-morning shift at Queens Hospital Center when his car was T-boned at Parsons Blvd. and Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens shortly after 4 a.m.
The victim was pronounced dead a short time later at the same hospital where he worked collecting and testing blood samples.
Prosecutors say Ahmed and his friend, Mir Fahmid, were drag racing each other in Kew Gardens Hills on the morning of Nov. 20, 2020, when they both crashed into Crawford. Officials said the speeding drivers ran through two solid red lights.
“I know what I did was wrong,” Ahmed told Crawford’s family during the sentencing at Queens Criminal Court. “I was young, my poor lack of judgment and actions led me to where I am today. Please find it in your heart to forgive me.”
“F–k your apology,” one angry family member shouted.
Other relatives shared the pain they continued to feel over the tragedy. Several wore t-shirts with a picture of Crawford on them.
“This whole thing could have been avoided if better judgment was used,” said the victim’s cousin, Wendell Owens.
The victim’s aunt, Joann Thomas, said she was very close to Crawford, who lived in Bloomfield, N.J.
“He wasn’t just my nephew, he was my son,” she said. “I wish you would have made a better choice and your choice was not to drink and drive. You took a precious life from me and all of us.”
Crawford was a proud dad of two sons — and welcomed a new baby grandson just the week before his death.
Months earlier, Crawford had posted a photo of himself in hospital gear with the tag, “Frontliners.” Coworkers…
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