Teen driver charged after Washington Heights crash kills two teens
City records say two teenage passengers were killed and four motorists were injured at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street, where police later charged a 16-year-old Hyundai driver with manslaughter.
What We Know
A crash at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street in Washington Heights killed two teenage passengers and injured four motorists on July 3, 2023. City crash data records the crash at 6:38 a.m.; Daily News also reported an early-morning crash, while Gothamist reported around 6:30 p.m. Police later said a 16-year-old was driving a stolen 2019 Hyundai Elantra with four teen passengers when the driver and a 53-year-old in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee collided at the intersection. Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17, were pronounced dead at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The teenage driver was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and other counts.
The crash involved a teen driver, four teen passengers and a Jeep driver
The official record places the crash at 6:38 a.m. on July 3, 2023, at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street in Manhattan. It records two motorists killed and four motorists injured.
Police later said a 16-year-old was driving a stolen 2019 Hyundai Elantra north on Audubon Avenue with four teen passengers. Gothamist reported that, as the Hyundai crossed West 179th Street, a 53-year-old driver in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee hit it. Daily News, in an earlier account, said police were still determining which driver caused the crash.
Daniel Duran and Daniel Rodriguez were killed
Gothamist identified the passengers who died as Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17. The official record describes both as male rear-seat passengers.
Police cited traffic-control disregard and filed manslaughter charges
The city crash record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor and also lists unsafe speed for the Hyundai driver. The same record describes that driver as unlicensed.
The intersection sits near a major bridge approach
The crash happened at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street in Washington Heights, near the entrance to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge to the Bronx, according to Daily News.
CrashCountNYC location data for Audubon Avenue in Manhattan shows 300 crashes, 162 injuries, 21 serious injuries and 3 deaths since 2022.