A driver was indicted after two pedestrians died in an Inwood crash.
The late appointment
Prosecutors alleged Leandro Diaz-Ramirez drove through a red light at 59 mph before a collision at Sherman Avenue and West 207th Street left two pedestrians dead and five people injured at 4 a.m. on August 3, 2022.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Prosecutors alleged Leandro Diaz-Ramirez drove through a red light at 59 mph and hit a Subaru at Sherman Avenue and West 207th Street. The crash occurred at about 4 a.m. on August 3, 2022; official records count two pedestrian deaths and five injured motorists. Reports differ on the Subaru's direction, turning movement and body type, and on whether the collision was head-on or a T-bone. The pedestrians were identified as Joel Adames, 31, and David Fernandez, 40. Diaz-Ramirez was arrested September 14 and later indicted on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault charges.
Prosecutors alleged a red-light run at high speed.
Prosecutors alleged Diaz-Ramirez drove a BMW through a red light at 59 mph in a 25 mph zone and hit a Subaru. Their account said the Subaru went onto the sidewalk, where two pedestrians were struck.
The official record counts two pedestrian deaths and five motorist injuries. It lists unsafe speed and disregard of traffic controls as contributing factors for the BMW.
The crash happened at a busy Inwood intersection.
The collision occurred at Sherman Avenue and West 207th Street in Inwood, Manhattan, at 4 a.m. on August 3, 2022.
Loved ones remembered two friends.
ABC7 identified the pedestrians as Joel Adames, 31, and David Fernandez, 40, and reported that they were friends. Family members said Adames worked as a food-delivery driver, was well loved in the community and looked forward to his daughter's second birthday.
Loved ones described Fernandez as a family barber nicknamed "David la Salsa" because he loved to dance.
Reports differ on the Subaru and the impact.
The official record lists a 2012 BMW sedan traveling north and a 2003 Subaru classified as a station wagon or sport utility vehicle traveling west; both are recorded as going straight. Reports differ on the Subaru's type: Gothamist called it a sedan, while the New York Post identified it as a Forester SUV.
Gothamist reported that the Subaru was southbound and turning left; NY1 said police believed a northbound vehicle swerved into the southbound lane. Prosecutors described a T-bone collision, while ABC7 and amNewYork described it as head-on.
An arrest and indictment followed.
Police arrested Diaz-Ramirez on September 14, 2022. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced his indictment on October 3 on manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges for the two deaths, along with four assault charges tied to injuries to others.
Prosecutors said the Subaru driver suffered broken ribs and a broken pelvis. Diaz-Ramirez remained at the scene after the crash.