Wrong-way driver and southbound motorist die in Queens crash.
Police said a driver in a Honda Pilot traveled north in the southbound lanes and collided with a southbound Honda HR-V near College Point Boulevard; the crash was recorded at 2:16 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2023, with two people killed and two injured.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
The crash was recorded at 2:16 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2023, on the Whitestone Expressway, near College Point Boulevard. News reports described a Honda Pilot traveling north in the southbound lanes and colliding head-on with a southbound Honda HR-V. QNS identified Francisco Cureno, 45, as the HR-V driver and Joseph Pulido, 25, as the Pilot driver; the Daily News reported that police had not yet determined who was driving the Pilot. The official record lists two deaths and two injuries.
Reported vehicle makes
- Honda — accepted press report
Make information is incomplete for the vehicles involved in this crash.
A driver was traveling against traffic.
Police said a driver in a Honda Pilot traveled north in the southbound lanes and collided with a southbound Honda HR-V driver near College Point Boulevard. The Daily News described the impact as head-on. The crash record logs the collision at 2:16 a.m. on Aug. 24, 2023, and records two deaths and two injuries.
The collision happened near College Point Boulevard.
News reports placed the collision on the Whitestone Expressway near College Point Boulevard in Queens. Police said the Pilot was traveling north in the southbound lanes as another driver headed south.
Reports differed over who was driving the Pilot.
QNS identified Francisco Cureno, 45, as the southbound HR-V driver and said he was pronounced dead at the scene. It identified Joseph Pulido, 25, as the Pilot driver who also died. The Daily News reported that the 25-year-old man in the Pilot died but said police had not yet determined who was driving it.
QNS reported that a 35-year-old woman in the Pilot's rear seat was in critical condition at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. A 26-year-old man in the Pilot was ejected and hospitalized. QNS and ABC7 reported him in stable condition, while the Daily News reported him in critical condition.
The crash record lists driver inattention.
The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor. News accounts described wrong-way travel but did not say that police linked the recorded factor to a named driver.
The expressway closed after the crash.
The Whitestone Expressway was closed after the collision. QNS reported that the police investigation was ongoing that day, and ABC7 reported that crews worked to clear the roadway.