A BMW driver faces charges after a fatal Cross Island Parkway crash.
At about 4 p.m. on July 5, 2025, Tegh Pawar was driving south on the Cross Island Parkway when, prosecutors say, he rear-ended a Honda; passenger Hilda Achaibor, 76, died, and three others were injured.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Prosecutors say Tegh Pawar steered a BMW from the center lane into the right lane and hit the rear of a Honda near Exit 26 for Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village. The Honda then left the roadway and came to rest against a tree. The official record gives the crash time as 4 p.m. on July 5, 2025, and records one death and three injuries. Reports differ on speed: QNS reported Pawar was traveling 107 mph on the parkway, while the Daily News said prosecutors placed him at about 77 mph at impact after he exceeded 100 mph five seconds earlier. A grand jury indicted Pawar on manslaughter and other charges.
The reported lane change preceded the collision.
According to QNS, citing the indictment and investigation, Pawar was driving a green 2025 BMW M3 southbound near Exit 26 when he moved from the center lane to the right lane and hit the rear of a red 2018 Honda Accord. QNS reported that the Honda then left the roadway and came to rest against a tree. The official record identifies both vehicles as sedans and lists unsafe lane changing as a contributing factor.
The reports describe different speeds. QNS reported Pawar was traveling 107 mph on the parkway. The Daily News said prosecutors placed him at about 77 mph at impact and above 100 mph five seconds earlier.
Achaibor was a rear-seat passenger.
QNS identified Hilda Achaibor, 76, of Rosedale, as the woman seated in the Honda's right-rear passenger seat. Officers found her unconscious and unresponsive and began lifesaving measures. QNS reported that EMS took her to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where she was pronounced dead; the Daily News said she died about 45 minutes after the crash at that hospital.
The Daily News identified the Honda's 53-year-old driver as Achaibor's son and reported that he and two other family members, ages 44 and 51, suffered minor injuries. Pawar and his 17-year-old front-seat passenger were uninjured, the Daily News reported.
Pawar surrendered and was indicted.
QNS reported that Pawar, 18, surrendered at the 112th Precinct on January 20, 2026, and was arraigned on charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and two counts of second-degree assault. The Daily News also reported a reckless-driving charge and said Pawar was released without bail.
Where
CROSS ISLAND PARKWAY