Two Drivers Fled After Gary Charlotin Was Hit on Hempstead Avenue
After Osman Zavala-Varela allegedly hit Gary Charlotin on Hempstead Avenue, prosecutors say Warren Rollins drove over and dragged him several blocks; the 66-year-old pedestrian died after the December 10, 2023, crash.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Gary Charlotin, 66, died after two drivers hit him on Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village at about 8:05 p.m. on December 10, 2023. Prosecutors say Osman Zavala-Varela, driving west in a Toyota Camry, hit Charlotin first and left. They allege that Warren Rollins then drove over Charlotin in an eastbound Chevrolet Traverse, stopped while bystanders warned him that Charlotin was pinned underneath, and drove away, dragging him several blocks. Rollins was indicted on murder and other charges in 2025. Zavala-Varela faces separate charges of leaving the scene and tampering with evidence.
Two impacts and a flight from the scene
Prosecutors say Zavala-Varela was driving a westbound Toyota Camry when he hit Charlotin, who was crossing Hempstead Avenue. The impact threw Charlotin into the eastbound lane, and Zavala-Varela left the scene.
Prosecutors allege that Rollins, driving an eastbound Chevrolet Traverse, drove over Charlotin and stopped. Witnesses told investigators they warned Rollins that Charlotin was pinned underneath and urged him not to move. Prosecutors say he drove away about two minutes later, dragging Charlotin for several blocks. People found Charlotin near the Cross Island Parkway overpass; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The city crash record lists driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for both drivers. Prosecutors separately allege that Rollins drove away after people warned him Charlotin was beneath his vehicle.
Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village
Early police accounts placed the crash near 223rd Street. Prosecutors later described the second impact as near 220th Street and said Charlotin was found near the Cross Island Parkway overpass after being dragged along Hempstead Avenue.
The corridor had a documented record of serious injuries. Gothamist reported that a city transportation study counted about 12 people severely injured or killed per mile on Hempstead Avenue from 2015 through 2019, including 34 people injured at the 223rd Street intersection.
Remembering Gary Charlotin
Charlotin was 66 and lived in North Baldwin, Long Island. Dozens of people attended his funeral in February 2024.
Charges against both drivers
Police arrested Zavala-Varela in January 2024. At the time, police said he faced charges of leaving the scene of an accident causing death and failing to obey a traffic signal. Prosecutors later said a separate 2024 indictment charged him with leaving the scene without reporting and tampering with physical evidence.
Rollins surrendered to police in June 2025 after a grand jury indicted him on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene without reporting and criminally negligent homicide. The charges are allegations, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.