Crime & Safety Roundup: East Flatbush Fire, Gowanus Expressway Crash
Unfortunately, it’s been a busy few days for Brooklyn’s first responders, with multiple gun violence incidents, a fatal car crash and a fire at a truck repair shop all reported in the last several days.
Here’s what you need to know.
Fatal crash on the Gowanus Expressway
On Wednesday just before 11:30pm, police responded to a 911 call reporting a car crash on the Gowanus Expressway near 92nd Street in Bay Ridge.
Officers arrived to find 30-year-old Karen Diaz, a Staten Island resident, unconscious and unresponsive in the passenger seat of a black BMW sedan. EMS pronounced Diaz dead at the scene.
The driver, 30-year-old Mark Dookhan, was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn hospital in Sunset Park, where he was found to be in stable condition before being placed in police custody.
An investigation by the NYPD’s Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined the car was traveling west on the Expressway when it struck the rear of a Freightliner truck that was stopped in traffic in the center lane.
Both vehicles remained on scene and the 46-year-old male truck operator was not injured. Police have charged Dookhan, also a Staten Island resident, for driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving while ability impaired (DWAI) and refusal to take a breathalyzer test. Dookhan received an additional charge for driving while intoxicated within 10 years of a previous DWI conviction.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Fatal shooting in Midwood
Just after midnight on Thursday, police responded to a 911 report of a man shot in front of a pharmacy at 1905 Avenue M near East 19th Street in Midwood.
When they arrived, officers found a 24-year-old man lying on the ground with gunshot wounds to the chest. Hatzolah EMS transported the man to New York Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The man’s identity has not been released because his family has not yet been notified.
There are no arrests at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Gun homicide in Flatlands
At around 6:20pm on Friday, February 26, police responded to a 911 call of a man shot in front of 4806 Avenue O near East 48th Street in the Flatlands.
There, officers found an 18-year-old Jalil Stewart, who lived nearby on Schenectady Avenue, with a gunshot wound to the head.
EMS first transported Stewart to NYC Health & Hospitals-Kings County in East Flatbush and then to Maimonides Hospital, where he died on Monday, March 1.
Police have determined the incident was a homicide, but as of yet there have been no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.
Fire in East Flatbush
At around 2:20am on Thursday morning, the fire department responded to a call reporting a fire at a truck repair service building at 1011 East 46th Street near Farragut Road in East Flatbush.
The fire was under control by about 3:45am. One unidentified person with injuries was transported to Kings County Hospital, but information on their condition was not immediately available.
