Driver hits two men at Astoria food truck; three die.
His Turn
Andrei Coman drove north on 42nd Street and struck two men beside a food truck near 19th Avenue in Astoria on August 12, 2025; the official record logs the crash at 8:36 a.m. and records three deaths.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
QNS identified the driver as Andrei Coman, 84, and reported that he was heading north on 42nd Street when he ran a stop sign and struck two men beside a coffee truck near 19th Avenue. The official record logs the crash at 8:36 a.m. and records three deaths: two pedestrians and one driver. Reports differ on the later collisions: QNS places a parked Volkswagen Passat and a Volvo XC90 in the sequence, with the Volvo leaving a driveway; ABC7 describes a Volvo sedan whose driver was making a U-turn. QNS identified one pedestrian as Joaquin Venancio-Mendez; ABC7 identified the other as Santiago Baires.
Three people died in the morning crash.
The official record logs the collision at 8:36 a.m. on August 12, 2025, and records three deaths: two pedestrians and one driver. QNS reported that Andrei Coman, 84, was driving north on 42nd Street when he ran a stop sign and struck two men standing beside a food truck.
The crash happened beside a food truck in Astoria.
The official record places the crash at 42nd Street and 19th Avenue in Queens. QNS reported that the two men were standing beside a coffee truck near the intersection. ABC7 said the cart's owner, Giancarlo Caruso, was closing up when he heard the tires.
Reports describe the later collisions and vehicle types differently.
QNS reported that after Coman struck the food truck, the crash sequence continued with a parked 2012 Volkswagen Passat and then a Volvo XC90 leaving a driveway. ABC7 instead reported that Coman's car spun after the first impact and was involved in a collision with a Volvo sedan whose driver was attempting a U-turn. The official record classifies the Volvo as a Station Wagon/Sport Utility Vehicle and records it traveling south while its driver made a left turn.
QNS identifies the food truck as a 1995 Chevrolet C/K3500; the official record separately lists a parked 1995 Chevrolet under the category Station Wagon/Sport Utility Vehicle.
Family and neighbors remembered the two pedestrians.
Joaquin Venancio-Mendez worked at a nearby tire shop.
QNS identified Venancio-Mendez as a father of two and manager of Astoria Discount Tire, where he worked with his brother. Food-cart owner Giancarlo Caruso said Venancio-Mendez had supported him and remembered him as, "He was super generous. Really nice guy."
Santiago Baires supported a large family.
Baires's family told ABC7 that he had eight children and 14 grandchildren, whom he adored. One of his sons remembered him as a landscaper: "Hard working man. Landscaper. Always working."