Teen Driver in Queens BMW Crash Killed 14-Year-Old Passenger
A 16-year-old boy driving a BMW on North Conduit Avenue near 160th Street in Queens on May 17, 2023, lost control at more than 100 mph in a 30-mph zone, prosecutors said, and official records show 14-year-old passenger Fortune Williams was killed.
What We Know
A teenage driver was traveling west on North Conduit Avenue near 160th Street in Queens on May 17, 2023, when he lost control of a BMW, according to prosecutors and police accounts. The official record lists one person killed and two people injured in a crash involving a sedan, a UPS truck and a tractor-trailer. Fortune Williams, 14, was the front passenger and was ejected; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Prosecutors later said the driver, who was 16 at the time, had only a learner's permit, was driving illegally and was traveling at more than 100 mph in a 30-mph zone. City records list the BMW driver as licensed in New York, while prosecutors said he was not legally allowed to drive as he did. In 2025, he was sentenced to up to four years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter, assault and other charges.
High-speed driving ended in a fatal passenger ejection
The crash happened on May 17, 2023, at 6:38 p.m. at North Conduit Avenue and 160th Street in Queens, according to the official record. The record lists a sedan, a UPS truck and a tractor-trailer among the vehicles involved, with one person killed and two people injured.
Police and prosecutors said a 16-year-old boy was driving a 2005 BMW west on North Conduit Avenue with Fortune Williams as his passenger. Prosecutors later said he was traveling at more than 100 mph in a 30-mph zone, lost control while trying to change lanes, hit a parked UPS truck, and was then involved in a second impact with a tractor-trailer.
Early news accounts differed on the moments before the UPS truck impact. The Daily News cited police sources saying the driver tried to pass a white box truck as vehicles exited the Belt Parkway; later prosecutor statements described the driver losing control while changing lanes on North Conduit Avenue.
Fortune Williams was 14 and riding in the front passenger seat
The official record identifies the person killed as a 14-year-old female front-seat passenger. The New York Post and Gothamist identified her as Fortune Williams, and police said she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver was taken to a hospital after the crash, according to police accounts. The official record lists one injured motorist and one injured pedestrian; the New York Post reported that the UPS driver was knocked to the ground as he tried to get into the parked truck.
North Conduit Avenue has a long crash record
The fatal crash happened at North Conduit Avenue and 160th Street in Springfield Gardens, Queens, near a Belt Parkway exit area described in police-source accounts.
CrashCountNYC's location review for North Conduit Avenue in Queens shows 1,214 crashes, 883 injuries, 46 serious injuries and 5 deaths since 2022, underscoring the corridor's sustained safety burden.
Records and prosecutors focused on inexperience, speed and licensing
The official crash record cites driver inexperience, and the BMW entry also lists unsafe speed. Prosecutors later said the teen driver was traveling at more than triple the posted speed limit.
The official vehicle record lists the BMW driver as licensed in New York. Gothamist, citing Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz's office, reported that the teen had only a learner's permit, was driving illegally, and had been ticketed for driving without a license about six months before the fatal crash.
The teen driver and his parents were sentenced
Gothamist reported that the teen driver, 18 by the time of sentencing, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to manslaughter, assault and other charges. Queens Supreme Court Judge Michael Yavinsky granted him youthful offender status, and he was sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Prosecutors also said his parents had been sentenced on child endangerment charges in connection with the crash and were required to attend parenting classes. Williams' mother, Keisha Francis, told Gothamist she wished they had never given him the BMW.