Driver indicted after tow operator dies on Long Island Expressway.
Tow Trucks for Kids
Denzel Porter was accused of causing a chain-reaction crash on the Long Island Expressway at 3:28 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2022, while tow operator Carlos Santiago helped a stranded driver; the official record lists one death and five injuries.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
The official record places the crash at 3:28 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2022, and counts one death and five injuries. Prosecutors later alleged Porter was driving at extremely high speed, while news accounts differed on how the impacts unfolded. Santiago, 47, died at Elmhurst Hospital, according to news reports.
On the westbound shoulder near Woodhaven Boulevard
Santiago was outside his tow truck on the right shoulder of the westbound Long Island Expressway, helping with a disabled Nissan near Woodhaven Boulevard in Elmhurst, according to prosecutors. Their account placed the men beside active westbound travel lanes.
News accounts gave different impact sequences
QNS identified Porter as 28, Nissan owner Rakiem Ali as 27, and Volkswagen driver Peter Park as 66. Prosecutors said Santiago was helping Ali with the disabled Nissan when the crash occurred.
ABC7, citing investigators, said Porter, driving a Dodge Durango, struck a Volkswagen SUV. The Volkswagen driver then swerved into the Nissan; ABC7 reported that the Nissan moved into Santiago and Ali.
Fox 5 reported a different preliminary police account: the initial collision sent the Volkswagen into Santiago, while Porter drove into the Nissan; the report said Ali was knocked down as the Nissan moved. QNS later reported prosecutors alleged Porter and Park each drove into the Nissan, with Santiago and Ali also struck in the collisions.
ABC7 and QNS reported that Santiago died at Elmhurst Hospital. The official crash record lists one person killed and five injured.
A longtime tow operator remembered as Campy
Carlos Santiago, known to loved ones as Campy, was a Howard Beach father of three who worked for Knights Towing. CBS reported that he had spent more than 30 years in the towing business and left behind his parents and three children.
His niece, Destiny Feliciano, remembered him by saying, “He's everything to me.” CBS reported that colleagues and loved ones gathered to honor him on the highway and later went to the Queens courthouse.
Porter was later arraigned on an indictment
QNS reported that Porter was arraigned in February 2023 on an indictment charging vehicular manslaughter, assault, criminally negligent homicide, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and other crimes. Prosecutors alleged that he was driving at extremely high speed. The official crash record lists alcohol involvement and following too closely as contributing factors.