Prosecutors Charge U-Haul Driver in Fatal Flushing Hit-and-Run
Prosecutors say Jamie Ferreira fatally struck 56-year-old David Opiela near Kissena Boulevard and the Horace Harding Expressway at about 12:29 a.m. on August 20, 2024; she later faced a manslaughter charge.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
Prosecutors allege Jamie Ferreira was speeding on the Horace Harding Expressway when she struck David Opiela, 56, near Kissena Boulevard shortly after midnight on August 20, 2024. A Honda Accord driver was injured, and police said Ferreira and her passenger, Jennifer Sablan, fled on foot. Early police accounts placed Opiela's death amid a collision between the two drivers' vehicles; later reporting on the prosecution described Ferreira striking him before colliding with the Honda. Ferreira was charged with manslaughter and other offenses. Sablan faced charges tied to items found in the U-Haul. Opiela's friend Michael Abbate remembered him as soft-spoken.
Accounts differ on the sequence
Early police accounts said a westbound U-Haul driver and a southbound Honda Accord driver collided near Opiela. One account described him as walking nearby; another said he was caught between the vehicles. Later reporting on the prosecution described Ferreira striking Opiela before colliding with the Honda. Responders pronounced Opiela dead at the scene.
The Flushing intersection
The crash happened at the Horace Harding Expressway and Kissena Boulevard in Flushing. Police described the U-Haul driver traveling west on Horace Harding and the Honda driver traveling south on Kissena as they approached the intersection.
Opiela's friends mourned him
David Opiela was 56. His friend Michael Abbate called him a "Good man, soft-spoken" and said he had been going home. A former girlfriend told ABC7 that Opiela had lost his twin sister and other relatives in a house fire.
The 42-year-old Honda driver was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital in stable condition.
The records describe the U-Haul differently
The city crash record classifies the westbound vehicle as a pick-up truck, while the Queens district attorney described Ferreira's U-Haul as a box truck. The record classifies the other vehicle as a sedan; news reports identified it as a Honda Accord.
Speed and the approach to the intersection
The city crash record cites unsafe speed for the westbound driver. Prosecutors alleged that Ferreira was speeding, and the Daily News reported that she went through a stoplight and mounted a curb near a gas station.
Charges followed months later
Police said Ferreira and her passenger, Jennifer Sablan, fled on foot. In February 2025, prosecutors announced a 77-count indictment charging Ferreira with manslaughter, assault, reckless driving, speeding and leaving the scene, among other offenses. Sablan also faced charges involving a forged instrument, stolen property and personal identification information.