Driver turned left before Staten Island crash that killed two
A city crash record logged two deaths and two injuries at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue, where police said a 50-year-old Audi driver attempted a left turn before the crash.
What We Know
The crash happened just before 10 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2026, at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue on Staten Island. The city crash record logged two people killed and two injured, all motorists, and listed unsafe speed as a contributing factor. Police told the New York Post that a 50-year-old Audi Q5 driver was traveling west on Rockland Avenue and attempted a left turn before the collision with a Honda HRV driven by a 70-year-old woman. Later reports identified the people who died as Anheli Vasquez-Trinidad, 6, and Gerardo Avila, 90. Police said no arrests had been made and the investigation remained active.
A left turn preceded the collision
The official record places the crash at 9:57 a.m. at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue. It records a southbound 2019 Honda SUV going straight and a westbound 2023 Audi SUV making a left turn.
The New York Post, citing police, reported that a 50-year-old man driving an Audi Q5 attempted to turn left from Rockland Avenue onto Forest Hill Road before the collision with a Honda HRV driven by a 70-year-old woman.
Two passengers died and two drivers were injured
The city record classifies the people killed as passengers: a 6-year-old girl in the left rear and a 90-year-old man in the front passenger seat. Later press accounts identified them as Anheli Vasquez-Trinidad and Gerardo Avila.
Early coverage by the Daily News described the girl as 7 and said five people were injured. The city record and later reports identified her as 6 and counted two people killed and two injured.
Speed and traffic-control factors were recorded
The city crash record listed unsafe speed as a contributing factor. In the entry for the Honda driver, the record also listed traffic control disregarded.
Police said no arrests had been made and the investigation remained active, according to the Post and Hoodline.
The corner had a prior memorial name
The crash occurred at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue in New Springville, according to the city record and local coverage.
A fundraiser followed Anheli’s death
The Post reported that a GoFundMe had been created for Anheli’s funeral expenses. Hoodline reported that the fundraiser sought support for the Vasquez-Trinidad family, with a $24,000 goal and nearly $8,000 raised at the time of its report.