Driver faces manslaughter charge after fatal BQE collision.
Destiny Mendez, 29, fatally struck Brooklyn resident Chasna Thelemaque, 37, on the westbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near Exit 28 and was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, according to police accounts reported by Gothamist and News 12.
Reported by press, not yet linked to NYC police crash records. This may change when new official records become available or when matching details are reviewed.
Location under review.
What We Know
Police said Destiny Mendez, driving a Hyundai Elantra, struck Chasna Thelemaque after the 37-year-old passenger fell from a moving Toyota on the westbound BQE approaching Exit 28. Reports place the incident around 2:30 a.m.; November 8, 2026, is inferred from Gothamist's publication date and its description of early Sunday morning. Updated reports identify the Toyota as a RAV4 rather than the Highlander named in preliminary reporting.
A passenger died on the expressway.
According to police accounts reported by News 12, Thelemaque was a rear-seat passenger when she fell from the Toyota and tumbled into the right lane. Mendez, traveling westbound in a Hyundai Elantra, then struck her. EMS pronounced Thelemaque dead at the scene.
Police said a 33-year-old man was driving the Toyota. Both drivers remained at the scene, and the two cars did not make contact.
Police descriptions changed.
FOX 5's preliminary report described the Toyota as a Highlander and the Hyundai driver as a 29-year-old man. Gothamist's updated account identified the Toyota as a RAV4 and the Hyundai driver as Mendez, saying an earlier NYPD statement had misidentified both the Toyota model and the driver's gender.
Gothamist reported the incident at around 2:30 a.m. near the Brooklyn Bridge. FOX 5 reported a 911 call around 2:26 a.m., rather than establishing that as the collision time.
Police reported an arrest and charges.
FOX 5's preliminary account said no arrests had been made. News 12's updated account said police arrested Mendez just after 4:45 a.m. and charged her with vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated and driving while ability impaired. Police alleged that she was driving under the influence.