Passenger dies after driver fleeing police runs red light in Brooklyn
City records show a 29-year-old passenger died and four motorists were injured at Central and Gates avenues in Brooklyn; police told the Post that Juan Lopez fled a traffic stop, ran a red light and hit the Honda Pilot she was riding in.
What We Know
A city crash record says one 29-year-old female passenger died and four motorists were injured at Central Avenue and Gates Avenue in Brooklyn. The Post, citing police, reported that Juan Lopez was driving a Mercedes while fleeing a traffic stop, ran a red light and hit a Honda Pilot carrying Micah Dukes in the back seat. The article said police first reported Dukes had died, then said she was in critical condition; the city record for this crash lists a 29-year-old female passenger killed. Police also described Lopez as drunk, and the city record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor.
A police account centered on a fleeing driver
The city crash record places the collision at Central Avenue and Gates Avenue at 6:28 a.m. on May 26, 2024; the Post, citing police, reported it happened around 5:30 a.m.
Police told the Post that Juan Lopez, driving a Mercedes, fled a traffic stop in Bushwick, ran a red light and hit a Honda Pilot. A witness told the paper he saw a police car following the Mercedes before the impact.
The passenger in the back seat
The city record lists the person killed as a 29-year-old female passenger seated in the right rear of the SUV. The Post identified the passenger as Micah Dukes and reported that she was ejected and taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center.
The Post reported that Dukes was from Albany and had graduated from Hudson Valley Community College in May 2023 with an Associate of Applied Science after studying Community Health Navigation.
Two occupied vehicles were recorded in the crash
The city record lists a 2018 Mercedes sedan with one occupant traveling west and a 2005 Honda SUV with four occupants traveling south. Both drivers were recorded as going straight ahead before the collision.
The Post described the SUV as a Honda Pilot and said Dukes was riding in it with three other people.
The record and police account both point to a disregarded signal
The city crash record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor and assigns that factor to the sedan driver. Police told the Post that Lopez ran a red light while fleeing a traffic stop and described him as drunk.
Central and Gates sit on a corridor with a heavy crash record
The collision happened at Central Avenue and Gates Avenue in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC’s street context for Gates Avenue in Brooklyn counts 748 crashes, 422 injuries, 26 serious injuries and 2 deaths since 2022.
At the scene, a witness tried to help before medics arrived
Edwin Castro, an employee at a corner store near the intersection, told the Post he saw the passenger on the sidewalk struggling to breathe. He said he alerted officers, and one officer lifted her head while Castro placed a pillow beneath it until medics arrived.
Police told the Post that Lopez was taken into custody at the scene and hospitalized in stable condition.