Flatlands Teen Dies In Second Fatal Crash On Kings Highway
EAST FLATBUSH — Some people in East Flatbush call Kings Highway, “Kings Speedway,” in spite of the numerous speed and bus lane cameras and heavy police patrols. But Tuesday evening, speed was responsible for the death of yet another man in the space of three weeks, only blocks apart as a 19-year-old man was killed and two passengers critically injured when the car they were driving struck a tree at “very high speed,” police said.
The deceased driver was identified as Claudio Poggy of Flatlands. He was decapitated when the luxury Mercedes Benz he was driving struck a tree on the traffic island of Kings
Highway while traveling east just past Avenue D. The location is notorious for numerous crashes.
On March 11, two men were killed as they were driving a Honda Fit at high speed and struck a light pole on Kings Highway near Tilden Avenue.
Police were seeking the owner of the unregistered luxury ride, though they did not believe it was stolen, police sources said.
A 16-year-old in the car was rushed to Brookdale Hospital with critical injuries and another 19-year-old man suffered minor injuries and was in stable condition at Kings County Hospital. Both had to be cut out of the wrecked vehicle, the engine sitting
20 feet away from the vehicle chassis.
Car parts were strewn hundreds of feet in all directions after the collision with the tree. Two parked cars were also damaged in the crash.
The crash occurred at about 4:30 p.m.just past the Kings highway and Avenue D intersection. Police believe the vehicle was traveling at 130 miles per hour, the number the speedometer was stuck on when cops got to the scene, police investigators said.One witness, identified only as Maria, said she was looking out the window of her apartment on Avenue Das she says she often does, when she saw two cars driving fast, one in the main traffic lane and the other in the service lane.“I was looking out the window and the silver car came passed so fast, it was like a movie,” she said. “The silver car hit the tree and pieces were flying. I have never seen anything like it. There were two cars, one in the main highway and the other was on the service road. Don’t they know children cross here from school.”Carlita Edwards, a 20-year resident at the corner of Avenue D andKings Highway, said it is common for drivers to be speeding at this intersection and there are numerous crashes.“What they do is they turn and their heads are in their phones and it’s an accident waiting to happen every day,” Edwards said.“It is Kings Highway and there is so much traffic that nobody wants to slow down for the other one to pass. If pedestrians are not careful, they get killed here. Almost every week there is a crash, sometimes three a week.”It was not immediately known if the Mercedes Benz was drag racing with another car in the service lane and is under investigation by Highway 2 detectives.