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Alleged Drunk Driver Crashes, Flips Parked Car Onto Sunnyside Sidewalk

Last night, shortly after midnight, a driver crashed into six parked cars in Woodside, Queens, flipping one of the vehicles onto the sidewalk. His vehicle thrust to the opposite sidewalk on 51st Street between Skillman and 39th Avenues, the driver then revved the engine in an unsuccessful attempt to flee before exiting the vehicle. Soon after, NYPD arrested him for drunk driving.

By Stephen Miller

5:13 PM EDT on October 22, 2014

An allegedly drunk driver crashed into six parked cars last night, flipping one of them onto the sidewalk. Photo: Angus Grieve-Smith/Twitter — An allegedly drunk driver crashed into six parked cars last night in Sunnyside, flipping one of them onto the sidewalk. Photo: Angus Grieve-Smith/Twitter

At 12:46 a.m., police charged 25-year-old Rhys Katwaru of Queens with driving under the influence of alcohol and refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test.

Streetsblog reader Angus Grieve-Smith, who lives nearby and witnessed the aftermath of the crash, posting photos online, said a passenger was also in the vehicle. When the two men got out of the car and tried to run, he said, they appeared too intoxicated to make much headway. Police soon arrived and began interviewing witnesses. According to an NYPD spokesperson, Katwaru had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and a strong stench of alcohol on his breath. He was taken to Forest Hills Hospital, where he refused a blood test.

Grieve-Smith said a police truck came later that night to flip the damaged car back onto its wheels and into its parking space. NYPD responded to 1,340 alcohol-related crashes in 2013, according to DMV statistics, representing 2.5 percent of the more than 52,600 crashes in NYC last year. Because there were no reported injuries, NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad is not examining the crash.

This crash occurred in the 108th Precinct. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Captain Brian Hennessy, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 108th Precinct council meetings happen at 7 p.m. on the last Tuesday of the month at Sunnyside Community Services, on the first floor of 43-31 39th Street. Call 718-784-5420 for information.

Stephen Miller

In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation. From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.

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