A grand jury indictment has come down almost exactly nine months to the day Queens officials say a reckless driver crashed into an Uber, killing a female passenger blocks from her home.
Jason Liriano, 23, was allegedly driving a luxury vehicle through Ozone Park on Christmas Eve last year when he plowed into the Uber, causing his own car to flip and resulting in the death of one woman and injuries to several others.
The Brooklyn man was arraigned Thursday before the Queens Supreme Court for criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene without reporting, aggravated unlicensed operation of the vehicle and driving in excess of speed limit. A request for comment from his attorney was not immediately returned.
"Behind the wheel of an expensive sports car, the defendant allegedly drove
at a high rate of speed and hit the other car on the rear passenger side. As alleged, his careless driving sadly resulted in the tragic death of an innocent woman," District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
Ritawantee Persaud, 54, was in the back of the Uber, just four blocks from her home in Ozone Park when the Lamborghini plowed into the vehicle.
The driver of the Uber was making a left turn onto 103rd Avenue when the Lamborghini struck at what investigators say was a high rate of speed. Police at the time said the previously unidentified driver had fled the scene of the crash on foot.
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The Lamborghini flipped over as a result of the crash, crushed alongside the Uber driver's Toyota Camry. Police found a 26-year-old female passenger inside the luxury vehicle with head and spine injuries. The Uber driver suffered head and leg injuries, police said.
