SUV Driver’s Left Turn Preceded Two Deaths on Atlantic Avenue
In Everyone's Lives
Police said a 66-year-old man driving a Mercedes-Benz SUV was turning left at Atlantic Avenue and Elton Street before the collision that the official record says killed motorcycle rider Reinaldo Rodriguez and passenger Mirella Vega.
What We Know
On Sept. 1, 2025, at about 8:10 p.m., Reinaldo Rodriguez, 42, and Mirella Vega, 42, were on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle at Atlantic Avenue and Elton Street in Cypress Hills when a 66-year-old man driving a Mercedes-Benz SUV was making a left turn, police told news outlets. The official crash record lists two motorists killed and one injured in a crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV. Press accounts citing police say both people on the motorcycle were thrown to the roadway; Rodriguez died at the scene and Vega died after medics took her to Brookdale. The official record lists the motorcycle traveling west; news accounts say the SUV driver was turning from Atlantic Avenue onto northbound Elton Street, while the official vehicle entry lists the SUV’s travel direction as north. Police said the SUV driver stayed, was taken to Brookdale in stable condition, and no arrests had been made as.з
What police and the official record say happened
The crash happened at about 8:10 p.m. on Sept. 1, 2025. The official record lists two people killed and one person injured in a crash involving a motorcycle and a station wagon or sport utility vehicle at Atlantic Avenue and Elton Street.
News accounts citing police identified the people who died as Reinaldo Rodriguez, 42, and Mirella Vega, 42. Police told those outlets Rodriguez was riding a 2025 Harley-Davidson with Vega as his passenger when the collision involved a 2021 Mercedes-Benz SUV driven by a 66-year-old man.
Atlantic Avenue and Elton Street in Cypress Hills
The official record places the crash at Atlantic Avenue and Elton Street in Brooklyn’s 11208 zip code. News accounts described the location as Cypress Hills and said Rodriguez was only blocks from his East New York home; Vega lived in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The official vehicle entry lists the motorcycle traveling west before the crash. Press accounts citing police say the SUV driver was turning from Atlantic Avenue onto northbound Elton Street, while the official vehicle entry lists the SUV’s travel direction as north.
Two Brooklyn residents died
Rodriguez was pronounced dead at the scene, police told news outlets. Vega was taken by medics to Brookdale University Hospital or Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where she died from her injuries.
The Daily News reported that Rodriguez had retired from the NYPD in March after joining in 2004, was a father, and had been studying electrical work. Relatives said Vega worked as a medical assistant and had three children.
Driver stayed; investigators continued
Police told news outlets the 66-year-old SUV driver stayed at the scene and was taken to Brookdale in stable condition. The outlets reported that no arrests had been made while the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad continued investigating.
Family members described the loss in stark terms. Rodriguez’s father told the Daily News, “He was full of life.” Vega’s eldest daughter told the paper, “Everybody’s in shock.” Fundraisers for both families had drawn support after the crash.