Teen passenger dies after Queens motorcycle crash
Police said a 15-year-old boy operating a 2021 Yamaha hit the front of a Mazda outside St. John Cemetery in Glendale; the official record lists one 16-year-old passenger killed and three motorists injured.
What We Know
On Feb. 21, 2022, police said, a 15-year-old boy operating a 2021 Yamaha hit the front of a Mazda CX-30 outside St. John Cemetery on Cooper Avenue near 88th Street in Glendale. Alexandra “Allie” Ariza, 16, was riding behind him and died at Jamaica Hospital two days later. The city crash record lists one motorist killed and three injured, and records Traffic Control Disregarded as a contributing factor. It also lists Driver Inexperience and an unlicensed status for the Yamaha’s driver. The Daily News reported on March 10 that no charges had been filed.
A ride through Glendale ended outside St. John Cemetery
Police told the Daily News that Alexandra “Allie” Ariza, 16, was seated behind a 15-year-old boy operating a 2021 Yamaha on Cooper Avenue near 88th Street at 3:13 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2022. The boy hit the front of a Mazda CX-30, and both teenagers were thrown onto the roadway.
The official crash record lists one person killed and three motorists injured. It records the motorcycle traveling east and going straight ahead, and the Mazda traveling northwest while its driver was making a left turn.
Cooper Avenue has seen repeated crashes since 2022
The crash happened at Cooper Avenue and 88th Street in Queens. Along Cooper Avenue in Queens, CrashCountNYC’s location review counted 354 crashes, 214 injuries, 11 serious injuries and one death from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Alexandra Ariza died two days later
Medics took Alexandra to Jamaica Hospital with a head injury, and she died there two days after the crash, the Daily News reported. The 15-year-old boy was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center with a leg injury, and the 30-year-old Mazda driver and his 27-year-old passenger were taken to Jamaica Hospital with minor injuries.
Her family later honored her organ donation
NY1 reported in 2023 that Jamaica Hospital and LiveOn New York honored Alexandra Ariza as an organ donor hero after her family donated her organs. Her mother, Pamela Ariza Marrero, said Alexandra had planned to attend college in Florida and had signed up to be an organ donor about a week before she died.
Records point to traffic control and driver experience
The city crash record lists Traffic Control Disregarded as the crash’s contributing factor. For the Yamaha’s driver, the vehicle record also lists Driver Inexperience and an unlicensed status. The Daily News reported on March 10, 2022, that no charges had been filed.