Teen driver charged after motorcyclist dies on Queens expressway
A 15-year-old SUV driver rear-ended Luis Mareno's motorcycle on the westbound Long Island Expressway in Corona shortly before 12:45 a.m. on September 26, 2025; Mareno, 30, died at the scene.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said a 15-year-old driving a Mitsubishi SUV rear-ended Luis Mareno's motorcycle on the westbound Long Island Expressway in Corona shortly before 12:45 a.m. on September 26, 2025. The impact threw Mareno into the path of a woman driving a Toyota Sienna, who struck him. His motorcycle then crossed three lanes and struck an unoccupied Infiniti on the shoulder. Mareno, 30, died at the scene. Police arrested the driver, then 16, in January 2026 and charged him with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and leaving the scene without reporting. The New York Post and QNS reported that all drivers remained at the scene, despite the leaving-the-scene charge.
A rear-end collision and a second impact
Police said the teen drove west in a Mitsubishi SUV and rear-ended Mareno's Triumph motorcycle. The impact threw Mareno into the path of a woman driving a Toyota Sienna, who struck him. His motorcycle crossed three lanes and struck an unoccupied Infiniti on the shoulder. Emergency responders pronounced Mareno dead at the scene.
Near Exit 22A in Corona
Police placed the collision on the westbound Long Island Expressway near Exit 22A and 108th Street in Corona, close to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The unoccupied Infiniti was stopped on the northwest shoulder, where Mareno's motorcycle struck it after crossing three lanes.
Luis Mareno and the people involved
Mareno was 30 and lived in Corona, on 97th Street just north of LeFrak City. A relative who declined to be named said, "He was a quiet, nice person," and added, "Very loved."
The SUV driver was 15 at the time of the collision. Police withheld his name because of his age. Police identified the Sienna driver as a 30-year-old woman.
Accounts differ on the SUV's model year
The city record and the Daily News identify the Mitsubishi SUV as a 2019 model; the New York Post calls it a 2018 model. The reports identify Mareno's motorcycle as a 2020 Triumph and the other vehicles as a 2015 Toyota Sienna and an unoccupied 2017 Infiniti Q50.
Charges followed months later
Police arrested the SUV driver on January 15, 2026, when he was 16, and charged him with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault and leaving the scene without reporting. The New York Post and QNS reported that all drivers, including the teen, remained at the scene; those accounts conflict with the apparent premise of the leaving-the-scene charge.