Tyree Epps was indicted after a fatal Brooklyn school-bus crash.
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Prosecutors say Tyree Epps ran a stop sign and collided with an eastbound school bus at Van Sinderen and Blake avenues in Brooklyn at 1:16 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2025; his passenger, Imani Vance, died.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Prosecutors allege Tyree Epps drove south on Van Sinderen Avenue and sped through a stop sign at Blake Avenue before colliding with an eastbound school bus on Feb. 27, 2025. His front-seat passenger, Imani Vance, died, and the bus driver was injured; no passengers were aboard the bus. The official record places the crash at 1:16 p.m. and lists a sedan, bus and parked box truck. Prosecutors said the collision sent the bus into a third, unoccupied vehicle. Epps was indicted on manslaughter and related charges and ordered held without bail. Vance worked three jobs and hoped to attend nursing school, the Daily News reported.
What prosecutors say happened
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney's account, Epps was driving a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 south on Van Sinderen Avenue when he allegedly sped through a stop sign at Blake Avenue and collided with an eastbound school bus.
The DA said the impact threw Vance, his 26-year-old front-seat passenger, into the windshield. She died from blunt impact injuries to her torso, including a laceration to her heart. Prosecutors said the collision sent the bus into a third, unoccupied vehicle; city records list a parked box truck in the crash. The bus driver suffered minor injuries, and no passengers were aboard the bus.
Reports differed on where Vance was pronounced dead: News 12 reported that she was pronounced dead at the scene, while 1010 WINS said EMS took her to Brookdale Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The intersection at the center of the allegations
The official record places the crash at Van Sinderen Avenue and Blake Avenue in Brooklyn. Prosecutors say Epps ran the stop sign at that intersection as the bus traveled east on Blake. Audacy and News 12 described the area as Brownsville, while the Brooklyn Eagle and amNewYork called it East New York.
Imani Vance's work and plans
The official record gives the fatal passenger's age as 26, and later reports identified her as Imani Vance. Earlier accounts differed: News 12 described a 24-year-old woman, while 1010 WINS initially described a 24-year-old man and said the victim's identity had not been released.
The Daily News reported that Vance had recently returned to New York after moving to Virginia. She worked at a hospital, Starbucks and as a security officer, and hoped to enroll in nursing school. Her family started a fundraiser to help with funeral costs.
Speed and the stop sign
The city record lists unsafe speed and disregard of a traffic control as contributing factors for the sedan. Prosecutors alleged Epps was speeding and failed to stop at the stop sign.
Indictment and conflicting accounts of his departure
Epps was indicted on second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault and other charges. A judge ordered him held without bail.
Accounts of his departure differed. The Daily News reported that police said Epps left in a taxi. The Brooklyn Eagle's account of prosecutors' allegations says he first ran on foot, entered an Uber and ordered the driver to leave; after police stopped the ride, he ran again before officers apprehended him.