Ocean Parkway Accident Leaves 1 Dead, 2 Injured On Saturday Night – Driver Arrested [UPDATED]
A late night accident on Ocean Parkway killed a 23-year-old college student when a speeding BMW slammed head-on into his minivan.
The accident happened at approximately 11:45 p.m. near Avenue X. The victim, Jamal Iqbal, was rushed to Coney Island Hospital where he died. The BMW driver and his 30-year-old female passenger were transported to hospitals in stable condition. The driver had a broken jaw.
The Daily News reports:
The impact of the crash ripped the minivan apart, sending the engine and transmission flying across the road.
The BMW spun several times and came to rest facing the wrong way in the northbound lanes — about 150 feet from the van.
A witness said he heard the sound of the crash, which he described as “an explosion,” from his house more than two blocks away.
… A witness sitting on a bench near Ocean Parkway watched in horror as the BMW lost control.
“I said to my wife, ‘This guy is going too fast,’” said Mohammed Sadiq, 63. “He was speeding.”
“The guy in the van probably didn’t even know what happened, it was so fast,” Sadiq added.
UPDATE (11:00 a.m.): Laura over at our sister site Bensonhurst Bean just updated the story with more recent reports, informing readers that the driver has been arrested. Beka Skhirtladze, 26, of Bath Beach, was in the driver’s seat of the BMW, and he is now charged with criminally negligent homicide, vehicular manslaughter, reckless endangerment and reckless driving. Skhirtladze was driving 90 miles-per-hour, police say.
Thank you to all the readers who contacted us about this incident, especially James Wall who provided information and photos from the scene.
Correction (5/10/2012): The original version of this post mistakenly identified the victim as a Brooklyn College student. In fact, he was a college student from Brooklyn.
