File photo by Lloyd Mitchell
A Queens grand jury indicted a Long Island man for manslaughter and other related crimes in a fatal road rage collision on the Long Island Expressway in Queensboro Hill in mid-August.
Shaqeem Douglas, 26, of Maple Street in Freeport, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Tuesday for allegedly causing a chain-reaction collision that killed 41-year-old Pradeppa Desai, of Elder Avenue in Flushing, who was a passenger in a Lyft SUV that the defendant cut off. Douglas’ girlfriend, Ariana Seratan, is also being charged in connection with the crash for falsifying business records.
According to the charges, at around 3 p.m. on Aug. 14, video surveillance showed a gray Honda sedan driven by Douglas traveling on the Long Island Expressway just west of the Van Wyck Expressway. The car was followed closely by a yellow 2016 Toyota Rav4 SUV operating as a Lyft, with two passengers, including Desai, in the left-hand lane.
In an effort to pass the Toyota, Douglas moved to the center lane and right lane before going back to the left lane and cutting in front of the SUV. Douglas began to slow down despite there being no vehicle directly in front of him. The 67-year-old driver of the Lyft SUV moved to the center lane to avoid the slowing Honda driven by Douglas, who moved to the center lane in front of the SUV and came to a complete stop despite there being no obstructions in front of him.
As the Toyota came to a stop behind the Honda, a 44-year-old man behind the wheel of a 2011 Jeep Wrangler, which was traveling at normal speed, attempted to go around the two vehicles that were unexpectedly stopped in the center lane. The Jeep struck the rear of the SUV, which, in turn, rear-ended the Honda. The Jeep rolled onto its side and came to a rest on the right shoulder of the highway.
Desai, who was in the back seat of the SUV along with another passenger, was rushed by EMS to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens with severe…
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