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 head and body trauma. He was pronounced dead later that day.
Douglas fled the scene in the Honda, which suffered considerable damage to its rear in the collision. Douglas pulled off the highway and parked on Waldron Street, where, according to video surveillance, three men exited the vehicle. Douglas removed a yellow bumper from the rear bumper of the Honda and threw the piece on the sidewalk. He also removed the rear bumper from the Honda and discarded it before returning to the car and driving away.
A gray Honda Accord with a missing rear bumper was recovered on Aug. 16 in the driveway of Douglas’ Freeport home. Seratan, the registered owner of the Honda Accord, made a false report to her insurance company, claiming she was driving the car and that it was rear-ended by another vehicle that left the scene.
In addition to manslaughter in the second degree, Douglas was also charged with assault, leaving the scene of an accident without reporting, tampering with physical evidence, reckless driving, and slow driving.
“The defendant is accused of driving with a conscious disregard for others and, as a result, caused the death of a visitor to our city, a 41-year-old husband and father,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Road rage has no place on highways or on our streets.”
Seratan, 26, of Maple Street in Freeport, was arraigned on charges of falsifying business records and insurance fraud. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis remanded Douglas into custody without bail and ordered him and Seratan to return to court on Nov. 20.
“We will hold responsible those who, out of selfishness or out of anger, put others on our roads in harm’s way,” Katz said.
If convicted, Douglas faces up to 15 years in prison and Seratan faces up to four years imprisonment.