Driver charged after fatal Rockaway Boulevard crash
Driver Javon Galette was charged after the July 24, 2022, 11:19 p.m. crash on Rockaway Boulevard, in which rear-seat passenger Brigitte Mercado died and two others were injured; QNS reported that Galette struck a curb before crashing into a fence.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
QNS reported that Galette was driving south on Rockaway Boulevard when he struck a curb at Brookville Boulevard and crashed into a fence. The official record lists one death and two injuries at 11:19 p.m. on July 24, 2022; QNS reported that Mercado was pronounced dead at St. John's Episcopal Hospital. In 2024, QNS reported that Galette was indicted and charged.
Accounts differ on what happened at the fence.
QNS reported, citing the indictment, that Galette was driving south on Rockaway Boulevard when he struck a curb at Brookville Boulevard and crashed into a metal fence. The report said a fence post came through the windshield and pierced Mercado in the chest.
El Diario's 2022 account, citing police and the Daily News, described the post piercing the driver's chest before fatally injuring Mercado in the rear seat. QNS's 2024 account described the post piercing Mercado but did not describe earlier contact with the driver.
The official record places the collision at 11:19 p.m. on July 24, 2022, on Rockaway Boulevard, and records one person killed and two injured. QNS reported that EMS took Mercado to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Reports differ on ages and the front passenger's identity.
QNS identified Brigitte Mercado as a 25-year-old rear-seat passenger from Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway. The official record lists the female passenger who died as 26.
The initial QNS report described the front passenger as a 28-year-old man, while El Diario described a 28-year-old woman in that seat. A later QNS report identified the front passenger as Ashleigh, Mercado's sister and Galette's girlfriend, and said she recovered. The initial reports said the front passenger was in stable condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
QNS initially reported that the driver was in critical condition; its later account identified Galette as the driver and said he recovered.
QNS identified the car as a Honda Accord.
The official record classifies the vehicle as a sedan and lists southbound travel with three occupants. QNS identified it as a Honda Accord.
Speeding was reported as a factor.
The official crash record lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor. Its vehicle entry also lists alcohol involvement, without identifying a person in that entry. QNS reported that NYPD investigators determined Galette was speeding when he lost control.
Galette was charged after a grand jury indictment.
QNS reported that Galette was arrested on August 20, 2024, after a Queens grand jury indicted him, and was arraigned that day. The charges included criminally negligent homicide, aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault. These are charges, not findings of guilt.
Where
southbound on Rockaway Boulevard at Brookville Boulevard, Far Rockaway, NY