Driver Sentenced After Bushwick Hit-and-Run; Passenger Died
At 12:46 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2024, Hayden Wallace, a 29-year-old right-rear passenger, died and three motorists were injured at Irving Avenue and Stockholm Street; prosecutors later said Christopher Seabrook drove a Kia Sportage at high speed into their Toyota Yaris and fled.
What We Know
The city recorded the crash at 12:46 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2024, at Irving Avenue and Stockholm Street in Brooklyn. Prosecutors later said Christopher Seabrook drove a Kia Sportage south on Irving Avenue at a high rate of speed and hit a Toyota Yaris traveling through the intersection. Hayden Wallace, 29, was riding in the right rear seat and died; the official record lists three other motorists injured, and prosecutors said the survivors suffered serious injuries. Police initially reported that the Kia driver and passengers fled on foot. Seabrook was arrested in February 2025 and later sentenced to up to six years after pleading guilty to manslaughter, assault and leaving the scene without reporting.
A high-speed impact at the Bushwick intersection
The official record places the fatal crash at 12:46 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2024, at Irving Avenue and Stockholm Street in Brooklyn, with one person killed and three motorists injured.
Prosecutors said Christopher Seabrook was driving a Kia Sportage south on Irving Avenue at a high rate of speed when he hit a Toyota Yaris traveling through the intersection at Stockholm Street. Police initially said the Toyota driver was headed east on Stockholm Street when the Kia driver hit the Toyota.
Prosecutors said the collision's force spun the Toyota into multiple parked vehicles. Police said Seabrook exited the Kia and fled on foot before police and emergency responders arrived.
Irving Avenue has seen hundreds of recent crashes
The crash happened at Irving Avenue and Stockholm Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
CrashCountNYC's Crash Finder identifies Irving Avenue in Brooklyn as a corridor with 512 crashes, 211 injuries, six serious injuries and one death since 2022.
Hayden Wallace had recently moved to Brooklyn
Hayden Wallace, 29, was riding in the right rear seat of the Toyota and died after the crash. The official record identifies the fatality as a 29-year-old male passenger in that seat.
The Daily News reported that Wallace had recently moved from Texas to Brooklyn, had started work as an American Airlines gate agent at Kennedy Airport, and was riding with new friends that night. His family described him as loved, joyful and still finding his place in New York City's LGBTQ community.
The official record lists three injured motorists. Prosecutors said the three surviving Toyota occupants suffered serious injuries, including fractures, internal injuries and organ damage that required surgeries and lengthy hospital stays; an early police account reported that the front passenger was in critical condition, another rear passenger was stable, and the Toyota driver had non-life-threatening injuries.
Investigators described two moving drivers and three parked vehicles
Press accounts identified the moving vehicles as a Kia Sportage driven by Seabrook and a Toyota Yaris driven by Jorge Sanchez de Lozada Haiek. The official record lists a southbound 2023 Kia SUV and an eastbound 2011 Toyota sedan with four occupants.
The official record also lists three parked, unoccupied vehicles with damage: a 2015 Chevrolet SUV, a 2013 Audi sedan and a 2004 Volvo SUV.
The criminal case centered on speed and leaving the scene
The Daily News reported that, when Seabrook was arrested in February 2025, he faced charges including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene. A later Daily News account said the case included allegations of speeding, possessing an open container of alcohol and not having a license.
Police and the official record also focused on the Toyota driver after the crash. The official record lists the Toyota driver as unlicensed, and police said Jorge Sanchez de Lozada Haiek was arrested on an aggravated unlicensed operation charge.
An arrest came more than a year later
Police announced Seabrook's arrest in February 2025, more than a year after Wallace died. Prosecutors said video surveillance later tracked Seabrook walking to a nearby smoke shop after the collision.
The Daily News reported that Wallace's mother traveled from Texas for Seabrook's arraignment and described the court case as her remaining path to justice for her son.