Driver charged after fatal Beach Channel Drive motorcycle crash
At 1:09 p.m. on July 17, 2022, Wade Jamar Jenkins, 38, died after two westbound motorcycle riders and a northbound sedan driver collided at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 45th Street; police later arrested Mark Graham on an unlicensed-operation charge.
What We Know
Wade Jamar Jenkins, 38, died Sunday afternoon in Edgemere after two motorcycle riders traveling west on Beach Channel Drive and a man driving north on Beach 45th Street collided at the intersection, police told reporters. The official record lists one motorist killed and two motorists injured, with a 2020 Suzuki motorcycle, a 2002 Honda motorbike and a 2014 Nissan sedan involved. News accounts said paramedics took the second motorcyclist, 33, to Jamaica Hospital and the car driver to St. John's Episcopal Hospital. The Daily News and amNewYork described the second rider as critical at the scene, while a later Shore News report described him as stable. After a lengthy investigation, police arrested Mark Graham on a charge of operating a vehicle without a license.
Two riders and a sedan driver collided in Edgemere
Police told amNewYork that a 52-year-old man, driving north on Beach 45th Street, hit two motorcyclists heading west on Beach Channel Drive shortly before 1:10 p.m.; the official record gives the time as 1:09 p.m.
According to amNewYork, one motorbike caught fire upon impact, and responders found the other motorcycle pinned against a fence. The official record lists a 2020 Suzuki motorcycle, a 2002 Honda motorbike and a 2014 Nissan sedan, with one occupant in each.
Wade Jamar Jenkins died at the scene
The official record identifies the person killed as a 38-year-old male motorcycle driver. A later report named him as Wade Jamar Jenkins of Richmond, Virginia; early same-day reports said police had not yet released his identity.
Reporters citing police said paramedics took the second motorcyclist, 33, to Jamaica Hospital. The Daily News and amNewYork described his condition as critical; Shore News later described him as stable. The 52-year-old driver of the car was taken to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, where police said he was stable or expected to recover.
Investigators recorded speed and later made an arrest
City crash data lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor for both motorcycle entries.
The Daily News reported no immediate charges on the day of the crash. Shore News later reported that, after a lengthy investigation, police arrested Mark Graham, then 53, on a charge of operating a vehicle without a license.
Beach Channel Drive has remained a high-crash corridor
The crash happened at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 45th Street in Queens, within the Beach Channel Drive corridor.
CrashCountNYC's corridor view counted 833 crashes, 513 injuries, 36 serious injuries and 6 deaths on Beach Channel Drive in Queens from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.