Box Truck Driver Leaves BQE Crash; Off-Duty Officer Dies
Box truck driver Carlos Almanzar Toribio collided with off-duty NYPD Officer Jay Peña on a Brooklyn-Queens Expressway ramp on Aug. 27, 2025; Peña died, and Toribio left the scene.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Carlos Almanzar Toribio was driving a box truck westbound on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway when he collided with Jay Peña, 30, an off-duty NYPD officer riding a motorcycle to work. Police sources said Peña was thrown from the motorcycle; video showed it continued into a wall and caught fire. Witnesses said Toribio did not stop. Peña died. Toribio later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and was sentenced to up to four years in prison. Prosecutors said he was not charged in connection with Peña's death.
The collision and its immediate aftermath
The official record places the fatal collision at 8:45 a.m. on Aug. 27, 2025. Police sources said Peña was riding to work when a box truck driver hit him. Peña was thrown onto the roadway, and video showed his motorcycle continuing into a wall and catching fire.
Accounts differ on parts of the crash and its aftermath. A Brooklyn Eagle report described Peña between two box trucks, while the official record lists a motorcycle and one box truck. The Daily News reported that Peña died after medics took him to a hospital; the Brooklyn Home Reporter reported that he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Westbound near Atlantic Avenue
The collision occurred on a Brooklyn-Queens Expressway ramp near the Atlantic Avenue exit in Cobble Hill. Peña and Toribio were traveling westbound, toward the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. Police closed the westbound lanes while they investigated.
Jay Peña's life and community
Peña, 30, was a four-year NYPD veteran assigned to the 84th Precinct in Downtown Brooklyn. A Sunset Park native and resident, he trained at Glory Martial Arts Center. The center remembered him as a dedicated student, teammate and friend; a former schoolmate recalled that he loved skateboarding. Peña was survived by his parents and brother.
Family, friends and fellow officers gathered for a funeral Mass at Our Lady of Angels Church in Bay Ridge. Peña was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery.
The leaving-the-scene case
Witnesses told police that Toribio did not stop after the collision. Prosecutors later charged him with leaving the scene. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to up to four years in prison. Prosecutors said he was not charged in connection with Peña's death.