Long Island man indicted in alleged road-rage crash on the LIE.
Shaqeem Douglas was indicted after prosecutors alleged he cut off and stopped ahead of a Lyft SUV on the Long Island Expressway on August 14, 2024; the official record lists one death and two injuries, and prosecutors identify the deceased passenger as 41-year-old Pradeppa Desai.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
Shaqeem Douglas was indicted on manslaughter and related charges after prosecutors alleged he cut off a Lyft SUV and stopped ahead of it on the Long Island Expressway. They say a Jeep driver then hit the SUV from behind, pushing it into Douglas's Honda. Pradeppa Desai, a passenger visiting New York on business, died later that day at a hospital. Douglas's girlfriend, Ariana Seratan, was separately charged over an allegedly false insurance report.
The indictment describes a three-vehicle sequence.
According to the charges, Douglas drove a gray Honda sedan close behind a yellow Toyota SUV operating as a Lyft, then changed lanes and cut in front of it. Prosecutors say he slowed, moved ahead of the Toyota again, and stopped in the center lane despite having no obstruction ahead.
Prosecutors say the Toyota driver stopped behind the Honda and a Jeep Wrangler driver tried to go around them. The Jeep driver hit the Toyota from behind, pushing it into the Honda; the Jeep rolled onto its side and came to rest on the right shoulder.
The crash happened near the Van Wyck Expressway.
The official record places the crash on the Long Island Expressway at 3:04 p.m. on August 14, 2024. Prosecutors place it just west of the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens.
Desai was visiting New York on business.
Prosecutors identified Pradeppa Desai, 41, as one of two passengers in the Lyft SUV's back seat. They said he suffered severe head and body trauma, was taken to a local hospital, and died later that day. District Attorney Melinda Katz described him as a husband and father.
The official crash record reports one person killed and two injured.
Douglas and Seratan faced charges.
Douglas, 26, of Freeport, was arraigned on an indictment charging second-degree manslaughter and assault, leaving the scene without reporting, tampering with physical evidence, reckless driving, and driving too slowly. Prosecutors allege he drove away, stopped on Waldron Street, discarded bumper pieces, and left again. They said a gray Honda Accord with its rear bumper missing was recovered at his home on August 16.
Ariana Seratan, 26, whom prosecutors identified as Douglas's girlfriend and the Honda's registered owner, was charged with falsifying business records and insurance fraud. Prosecutors allege she falsely told her insurer that she had been driving and that another driver had rear-ended her and left.
A judge continued Douglas's remand and ordered both defendants to return to court on November 20. Prosecutors said that, if convicted, Douglas faced up to 15 years in prison and Seratan up to four years. The charges are allegations, not findings of guilt.