Driver, 16, accused of killing 2 teen passengers in Manhattan crash
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, N.Y. (PIX11) --- A 16-year-old driver faces manslaughter charges after two teens riding in his car died in a multi-vehicle wreck in Manhattan last week, police said Wednesday.
The victims, Daniel Rodriguez, 17, and Daniel Duran, 15, were passengers in the suspect's Hyundai Elantra when the vehicle was hit by a Jeep Cherokee near Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street at around 6:40 a.m. July 3, police said.
The stolen Elantra kept going northbound on Audubon Avenue and struck an unoccupied parked car before flipping over, according to the NYPD. Rodriguez and Duran died at the hospital.
The 16-year-old driver and a 15-year-old passenger were taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said. The Jeep driver, 53, was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Duran was a sophomore at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. His funeral service was Tuesday. Rodriquez was also a Bronx resident.
"We send our prayers and condolences to the members of his (Duran) family," the school wrote in a Facebook post.
The teen driver has been charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, criminal mischief, and reckless endangerment, police said.