Taxi driver indicted over alleged wrong-way crash that killed a Queens rider.
Prosecutors say taxi driver Mohammad Bhuiyan drove east in a westbound lane before a head-on collision that killed 59-year-old Antonios Spyropoulos on Northern Boulevard in Queens on Nov. 27, 2023; the city recorded the crash at 11:53 p.m.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Prosecutors allege that Bhuiyan drove a 2023 Toyota RAV4 taxi east in Northern Boulevard's westbound lane for about 300 feet after leaving the 59th Street Bridge, then collided head-on with Spyropoulos, 59, who was riding a Yamaha XMAX. Spyropoulos died after the collision, but reports differ about his treatment and the timing and place of his death.
Prosecutors allege the taxi traveled about 300 feet the wrong way.
The Queens district attorney alleges that Bhuiyan left the 59th Street Bridge, drove a 2023 Toyota RAV4 yellow taxi east in Northern Boulevard's westbound lane for about 300 feet, and collided head-on with Spyropoulos. The district attorney said Spyropoulos was making a DoorDash delivery.
The city record gives the crash time as 11:53 p.m. on Nov. 27, 2023. Prosecutors and Audacy place it at about 11:51 p.m. The city lists driver inexperience and improper passing or lane usage as contributing factors for the taxi.
The crash was near 41st Avenue in Queens.
The city records the collision at 29-76 Northern Boulevard in Queens. Audacy placed it just east of 41st Avenue in Dutch Kills, while QNS described the location as near 41st Avenue in Long Island City. Prosecutors allege that the taxi was traveling in the westbound lane along this stretch.
Spyropoulos was making a delivery.
Antonios Spyropoulos, 59, lived on 29th Street in Astoria, QNS reported. Prosecutors said he was making a DoorDash delivery when the collision occurred.
Reports differ about his treatment and death. Audacy and QNS said EMS took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Queens district attorney said he was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital for treatment and died on Dec. 1, 2023. El Diario, citing the Daily News, reported that he died at Bellevue four days after the crash.
Reports use different labels for the Yamaha.
Prosecutors described Spyropoulos's 2020 Yamaha XMAX as a scooter, and QNS called it an XMAX 300 scooter. Audacy described it as an XMAX 300 motorcycle. The city classified the individual vehicle as a moped and used motorscooter for the collision-level category.
The district attorney identified Bhuiyan as the driver of a 2023 Toyota RAV4 yellow taxi. The city record classifies the other vehicle as a taxi.
The taxi driver was later indicted.
QNS reported that the taxi driver remained at the scene and was not arrested at that stage. The Queens district attorney later announced that Bhuiyan had been arraigned on an indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, and failing to obey passing safety markers.
The district attorney said Bhuiyan was apprehended on an arrest warrant after the indictment. The charges are allegations, and Bhuiyan is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.