Driver Charged After Pedestrian Killed in Flushing Hit-and-Run
Prosecutors later charged Jamie Ferreira with manslaughter after a city crash record documented unsafe speed in the Aug. 20, 2024, Flushing collision in which David Opiela was killed.
What We Know
At 12:29 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2024, David Opiela, a 56-year-old pedestrian, was killed and a motorist was injured at Horace Harding Expressway and Kissena Boulevard in Flushing. The city record lists unsafe speed and identifies two vehicles: a Ford pick-up truck and a Honda sedan. Police and prosecutors later described the truck as a U-Haul. Prosecutors said Jamie Ferreira was speeding in the U-Haul when she hit Opiela, hit another car and left on foot with passenger Jennifer Sablan. Early news accounts differed on the sequence, with some describing a collision between the U-Haul driver and Honda driver before Opiela was hit and later accounts alleging Ferreira mounted the curb before the collision with the Honda. Ferreira was charged with manslaughter, reckless driving, speeding and leaving the scene, among many other counts; Sablan also faced charges tied to items investigators said were 6
What investigators said happened
City records place the crash at 12:29 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2024, at Horace Harding Expressway and Kissena Boulevard. The record says one pedestrian was killed and one motorist was injured, and it lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor.
Police initially said a Honda Accord driver was traveling south on Kissena Boulevard and a U-Haul driver was traveling west on Horace Harding Expressway when the two drivers were involved in a collision and David Opiela was hit nearby. Later accounts from prosecutors alleged that Jamie Ferreira was speeding in the U-Haul when she hit Opiela, hit another car and left on foot with passenger Jennifer Sablan.
Where Horace Harding meets Kissena
The crash was reported at Horace Harding Expressway and Kissena Boulevard in Flushing. The New York Post described the location as near Queens College.
David Opiela and the injured motorist
David Opiela, 56, was the pedestrian killed. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
A 42-year-old man driving the Honda Accord was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital in stable condition, according to police accounts. The city record also lists one injured motorist.
The records describe a truck and a Honda sedan
The city record identifies two involved vehicles: a 2015 Ford pick-up truck traveling west and a 2015 Honda sedan traveling south. News accounts and prosecutors described the truck as a U-Haul and the sedan as a Honda Accord.
The published accounts differed on the sequence. Gothamist and amNY initially described Opiela as being hit during or after a collision involving the U-Haul driver and the Honda driver; the New York Post and later Daily News account alleged the U-Haul driver mounted a curb and hit Opiela before the collision with the Honda.
Speed and hit-and-run allegations shaped the case
The city record lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor. Prosecutors later alleged that Jamie Ferreira was speeding while driving the U-Haul.
Ferreira was charged in a 77-count indictment that included manslaughter, reckless driving, speeding and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, along with other charges. Sablan also faced charges connected to items investigators said they found in the truck.
Arrests came months later
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said investigators tracked down Ferreira and Sablan with help from the NYPD, the Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Secret Service. Katz said a search of the truck turned up a forged postal service key, a counterfeit $100 bill, stolen credit cards, a stolen checkbook and notebooks containing personal and financial information.