DWI Driver Sentenced After DEP Worker Dies in Queens Crash
Errick Persaud drove drunk through a steady red light at Lefferts Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue and hit a DEP truck at 2:33 a.m., killing passenger Michael Rodriguez, city records and prosecutors said.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
At 2:33 a.m. on July 6, 2023, a collision involving a sedan and a box truck at Lefferts Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue in Queens killed a front-seat passenger in the truck and injured two motorists. Prosecutors said Errick Persaud drove a black Mercedes-Benz at high speed through a steady red light and hit an NYC Department of Environmental Protection truck. Michael Rodriguez, an on-duty DEP worker riding as a passenger, was ejected and pinned under the wreckage, then died after medics took him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. Persaud later pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison.
A Richmond Hill intersection before dawn
The collision happened at about 2:33 a.m. at Lefferts Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue in Queens, according to city crash records. Prosecutors later focused on that same intersection, saying surveillance footage showed Persaud driving through a steady red light before the collision.
Prosecutors said a driver ran the light
The DEP truck was heading east on Atlantic Avenue with two sewer maintenance workers inside, while Persaud was driving a Mercedes-Benz south on Lefferts Boulevard, according to police accounts cited by local news. Prosecutors said Persaud was speeding through a steady red light when he hit the city truck near the intersection.
The collision toppled the truck. Michael Rodriguez, who was riding in the passenger seat, was ejected and pinned under the wreckage before first responders freed him and took him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he died.
Michael Rodriguez was working for the city
Later court coverage identified the passenger who died as Michael Rodriguez, a 36-year-old NYC Department of Environmental Protection worker. The official crash record also lists the person killed as a 36-year-old male passenger; some first-day news reports described the passenger as 38.
DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala said the agency was devastated after an on-duty worker died and said the two sewer maintenance workers had been serving the city around the clock. The truck driver and Persaud were both reported to have minor injuries.
A manslaughter plea led to prison time
Persaud was arraigned on charges that included second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, assault and impaired-driving counts, according to Queens court coverage. Prosecutors said a breath test showed a blood alcohol content of .134 percent.
In 2024, QNS reported that Persaud pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison.