Motorcycle Driver Loses Control on Queens Parkway, Killing Teen
A 29-year-old motorcycle driver struck a curb at an exit from the Cross Island Parkway just after midnight on June 19, 2023, throwing passenger Alyssa Henley, 17, from the motorcycle and killing her days before graduation.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Just after midnight on June 19, 2023, a 29-year-old man driving a motorcycle north on the Cross Island Parkway struck a curb while trying to take the ramp to the southbound Whitestone Expressway, police said. He lost control, and his passenger, 17-year-old Alyssa Henley, was thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene. The official record lists one other motorist injured. Henley was due to graduate high school that week. Medics took the driver to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens in stable condition. The official vehicle record cites driver inexperience and unsafe speed as contributing factors.
The crash and its contributing factors
Police said the 29-year-old driver was heading north on the Cross Island Parkway when he struck a curb while trying to exit onto the ramp for the southbound Whitestone Expressway. He lost control, and passenger Alyssa Henley was thrown from the motorcycle. She died at the scene.
The official vehicle record describes the motorcycle as carrying two people and cites driver inexperience and unsafe speed as contributing factors.
A graduation week cut short
Henley was 17 and due to graduate high school that week. Her aunt remembered her as "such a bright soul with a big future." Henley's mother, Crystal Moore, said they had planned to shop for a graduation dress together that Monday; Moore later bought the dress herself.
The driver was hospitalized
Medics took the motorcycle driver to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens in stable condition. The Daily News reported on June 19 that he had not been charged at that point.
Where
CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY