Driver Charged After Scooter Rider Dies in Jackson Heights Crash
Police charged BMW driver Jairo Ortiz with vehicular manslaughter and DWI after an official crash record documented a fatal 1:16 a.m. collision with a motorscooter driver at 37 Avenue and 82 Street in Queens.
What We Know
Police and the city crash record place the crash shortly after 1:15 a.m. at 37 Avenue and 82 Street in Jackson Heights. The scooter rider was going west on 37 Avenue, and Jairo Ortiz, 24, was driving a BMW sedan south on 82 Street when the drivers collided. The rider was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and pronounced dead. Police said Ortiz remained at the scene and was arrested; amNewYork reported charges of vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, and operating without a license, registration, or insurance. Public accounts did not resolve which motorist had the right of way, and records disagree on the BMW's model year.
Two drivers collided after 1 a.m.
The city crash record lists the crash at 1:16 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2022, at 37 Avenue and 82 Street in Queens. News accounts citing police said the scooter rider was going west on 37 Avenue while Jairo Ortiz, 24, drove a BMW sedan south on 82 Street.
The scooter rider was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and pronounced dead. The official record lists one motorist killed and no other injuries.
Right of way was not publicly resolved
QNS reported that police had not made clear which motorist had the right of way. amNewYork described the rider making contact with the back of the BMW, while the official record lists front-end damage to the motorscooter and left-side damage to the sedan.
Police arrested the BMW driver at the scene
Police said Ortiz remained at the scene. amNewYork reported that police determined he was intoxicated and charged him with vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, and operating a motor vehicle without a license, registration, or insurance.
QNS reported the same manslaughter and DWI charges and said the NYPD Highway Collision Investigation Squad continued to investigate.
37th Avenue is a high-crash corridor
The crash happened at 37 Avenue and 82 Street in Queens, at the Jackson Heights intersection identified in police accounts.
Across 37th Avenue in Queens, CrashCountNYC's corridor context recorded 1,173 crashes, 670 injuries, 55 serious injuries and 6 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.
Records disagree on the BMW's model year
The city crash record identifies the vehicles as a motorscooter and a BMW sedan and lists the sedan as a 2011 model. The New York Post and QNS, citing police, described the BMW as a 2021 model.
Officials framed the death as traffic violence
amNewYork reported that local elected officials publicly mourned the rider's death. City Councilmember Shekar Krishnan wrote, "Sad to lose someone so senselessly to traffic violence on Thanksgiving weekend," and State Senator Jessica Ramos said, "There is absolutely no reason to drink and drive."