Driver Daniel Sails was charged with reckless driving after a fatal Rockaway bus stop crash.
Police said Daniel Sails fell asleep while driving and drove onto the sidewalk, killing 19-year-old Ava Conklin; the official record places the crash at 2:16 p.m. on June 24, 2023, at Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 108 Street in Queens.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said Sails fell asleep while driving west on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, went onto the sidewalk and struck Conklin and three benches at the bus stop. Conklin had just finished a shift at the Rockaway Hotel and was waiting for a bus. Sails stayed at the scene and was released after questioning; police arrested him on January 16, 2024, and charged him with reckless driving.
Police said Sails fell asleep while driving.
Police said Sails fell asleep while driving west on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, went onto the sidewalk and struck Conklin and three metal benches at the bus stop. The official record lists falling asleep as a contributing factor.
The official record gives the crash time as 2:16 p.m. Patch reported about 2:15 p.m., while QNS said Conklin was waiting at around 2:17 p.m.
The bus stop stood across from her workplace.
The crash occurred at Rockaway Beach Boulevard and Beach 108 Street in Rockaway Park, across from the Rockaway Hotel, where QNS reported Conklin had just finished a shift. The Queens Daily Eagle described the corner as a busy stretch about a block from the Rockaway ferry stop.
Conklin was a student and hotel worker.
QNS reported that Conklin lived in Hell's Kitchen and had just finished a shift at the Rockaway Hotel. The Queens Daily Eagle described her as a college student in Vermont and reported that she was waiting to meet her younger sister for a trip into the city.
The Eagle reported that Conklin had sent her family a selfie shortly before the crash. Her sister Peyton told the News, “She was always the emotional mediator. I idolized her.”
Reports described the vehicle differently.
The official record classifies the vehicle as a sedan. ABC7 described it as a white SUV, while QNS and Patch identified it as a 2021 Hyundai Venue.
Sails was arrested months later.
ABC7 and QNS reported that EMTs took Conklin to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Sails remained at the scene and was questioned, then released, according to ABC7 and QNS.
QNS and Patch reported that police arrested Sails on January 16, 2024, and charged him with reckless driving. The Queens Daily Eagle reported that flowers and a memorial were later placed at the scene.