Wrong-way driver and westbound motorist die in Belt Parkway crash
Winston Ramdeen drove the wrong way on the Belt Parkway shortly before 1 a.m. on April 11, 2023, and collided head-on with a westbound driver; both men died.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Winston Ramdeen, 52, drove a 2001 Infiniti QX4 east in the Belt Parkway's westbound lanes early on April 11, 2023, police said. After sideswiping several vehicles, he collided head-on with a westbound 2007 Nissan Sentra near the Rockaway Parkway exit in Canarsie. Ramdeen and the Nissan's 79-year-old driver were taken to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where both were pronounced dead. The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction and alcohol involvement for Ramdeen's SUV. ABC7 reported that investigators were still determining whether he had been under the influence.
The drivers collided head-on after a wrong-way drive
Police said Ramdeen sideswiped several vehicles while driving east in the westbound lanes, then collided head-on with a westbound Nissan Sentra. The city recorded the fatal collision at 12:58 a.m. on April 11. Its records identify two drivers killed and no other people injured.
The collision happened in the Belt Parkway's westbound lanes
Police placed the head-on collision near the Rockaway Parkway exit in Canarsie, Brooklyn. They said Ramdeen had been traveling east against westbound traffic since at least the Flatbush Avenue South exit, where he sideswiped other vehicles.
Both drivers died at the hospital
Ramdeen, 52, was a Queens resident driving a 2001 Infiniti QX4. The other driver was a 79-year-old man in a 2007 Nissan Sentra. Paramedics took both men to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.
The record and early reporting differ on alcohol
The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction and alcohol involvement for Ramdeen's Infiniti. ABC7 reported on the day of the crash that investigators were still trying to determine whether he had been under the influence.
Police investigated as westbound traffic was shut down
The NYPD Highway District's Collision Investigation Squad investigated the crash. ABC7 reported that westbound Belt Parkway traffic was shut down for several hours.
The New York Post reported that a jury had found Ramdeen guilty in February of drunken driving in a separate 2021 crash. He was due to be sentenced eight days after the Belt Parkway collision.