Driver charged after Bensonhurst crash leaves two dead
Police said Vitaliy Konoplyov ran a red light at 18th Avenue and 64th Street in Bensonhurst and was charged with manslaughter after a crash that the city record says killed two people and injured five.
What We Know
On March 20, 2023, police said Vitaliy Konoplyov drove south on 18th Avenue in a Toyota Camry, ran a red light at 64th Street and hit the driver’s side of a Honda HRV traveling east with the green light. The city crash record lists two people killed and five injured, with traffic-control disregarded as a contributing factor. The people killed were a female pedestrian who was crossing with the signal and the 51-year-old male driver of the Honda. News reports gave the pedestrian’s age as 60; the city record lists her as 65. Police arrested Konoplyov, and news outlets reported manslaughter and unlicensed-operation charges.
Police described a red-light crash in Bensonhurst
Police said Vitaliy Konoplyov, 49, drove a 2015 Toyota Camry south on 18th Avenue, ran a red light near 64th Street and hit the driver’s side of a 2016 Honda HRV whose driver was heading east with a steady green light. The city record lists traffic-control disregarded as a contributing factor.
Police said the Honda driver lost control after the impact and the pedestrian was hit while crossing 18th Avenue with the walk signal. Police also said Konoplyov then hit the rear passenger side of a Chevy Equinox driven by a 71-year-old man and then a traffic signal pole.
Two people died, and the records disagree on the pedestrian’s age
The city record says the people killed were a 65-year-old female pedestrian and a 51-year-old male driver. Police told reporters the driver who died was operating the Honda, and that the pedestrian was crossing 18th Avenue with the walk signal.
Brooklyn Paper and the New York Post reported the pedestrian as 60 years old, while the city crash record lists her as 65. The city record and initial news reports list five injured people.
The city record lists a sedan and multiple SUVs
The city record lists a 2015 Toyota sedan traveling south, a 2016 Honda SUV traveling east, a 2021 Chevy SUV traveling south and a parked 2021 Chevy SUV. Police told the New York Post that debris from Konoplyov’s Toyota damaged the parked Chevy Traverse.
Police arrested the Toyota driver
Konoplyov remained at the scene and police took him into custody, according to news reports. Brooklyn Paper reported two counts of manslaughter and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle; the New York Post reported manslaughter and two counts of aggravated unlicensed operation.
The official vehicle record lists the Toyota driver as unlicensed.
18th Avenue has seen repeated harm since 2022
The crash happened at 18th Avenue and 64th Street in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst area.
CrashCountNYC’s location context for 18th Avenue in Brooklyn lists 608 crashes, 402 injuries, 23 serious injuries and 7 deaths since 2022.