A 26-year-old Long Island man has been arraigned on an indictment charging him with manslaughter and other crimes in the road rage death of a 41-year-old in town for a business trip over the summer, prosecutors say.
The defendant's girlfriend is also being charged in connection with the crash for falsifying business records.
According to investigators, the victim, 41-year-old Pradeppa Desai, was in a Lyft SUV; he was visiting New York on a business trip in mid-August. They were driving along the Long Island Expressway when the defendant allegedly came to a stop, forcing the SUV to a stop and into a deadly collision.
According to the charges, video surveillance footage showed the defendant's gray Honda following closely behind a yellow Toyota SUV operating as a Lyft, with two passengers, including Desai, in the left lane of the LIE.
The Honda driver tried to pass the Toyota, moving to the center lane and right lane before going back to the left lane and cutting in front of the SUV, prosecutors say. The Honda driver began to slow down, despite there being no vehicle directly in front of him. The Toyota driver moved to the center lane to avoid the slowing Honda, at which point prosecutors say the Honda driver moved to the center lane right in front of the SUV and came to a complete stop.
Officials say there was nothing obstructing its path at the time.
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The Toyota had to stop behind the stopped Honda, at which point the driver of a Jeep Wrangler, operating at a normal highway speed, tried to go around the two vehicles. The Jeep hit the back of the SUV, which hit the Honda. Desai, who was in the back seat of the SUV with another passenger, was taken to a hospital with severe head and body trauma.
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He died later that day.
Investigators say the Honda suffered damage in the crash and the defendant tried to hide it.
A gray Honda Accord with a missing rear bumper was recovered two days later in his driveway.
"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. We will hold responsible those who, out of selfishness or out of anger, put others on our roads in harm’s way."
He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. His girlfriend, who allegedly tried to claim she was driving and had been in a fender bender, faces up to four years.
