Driver charged after two killed in Bensonhurst red-light crash
At 12:47 p.m. on March 20, 2023, police said driver Vitaliy Konoplyov ran a red light at 18th Avenue and 64th Street in Bensonhurst; the official record says two people were killed and five others were injured.
What We Know
At midday on March 20, 2023, police said driver Vitaliy Konoplyov drove a 2015 Toyota Camry south on 18th Avenue, ran a red light at 64th Street and hit the driver's side of a 2016 Honda HRV whose driver had a green light. The official record says two people were killed and five motorists were injured, with traffic-control disregarded recorded as a contributing factor. The record says a 51-year-old male driver and a 65-year-old female pedestrian crossing with the signal died; press accounts citing police described the pedestrian as 60, so public sources disagree on her age. Police charged Konoplyov with manslaughter and aggravated unlicensed operation.
Police said a red-light violation started the crash
At 12:47 p.m. on March 20, 2023, police said Vitaliy Konoplyov, 49, drove a 2015 Toyota Camry south on 18th Avenue and ran a red light as he approached 64th Street. Police said he hit the driver's side of a 2016 Honda HRV driven east on 64th Street by a 51-year-old man who had a steady green light.
After the first impact, police said both drivers lost control. The Honda driver was taken to Maimonides Medical Center and died there; the woman crossing 18th Avenue with the walk signal in her favor was also taken there and died.
A busy 18th Avenue corridor in Bensonhurst
The crash happened at 18th Avenue and 64th Street in Brooklyn. CrashCountNYC's location context identifies 18th Avenue in Brooklyn as a corridor with 608 crashes, 402 injuries, 23 serious injuries and 7 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
The people killed have not been publicly named in the reviewed sources
The official crash record identifies the people killed by role rather than name: a 51-year-old male driver and a female pedestrian at the intersection who was crossing with the signal. The official record gives the pedestrian's age as 65; police accounts in the Post and Brooklyn Paper gave her age as 60.
The official record counts five injured motorists. Brooklyn Paper reported that one injured person remained in critical condition after responders took victims to Maimonides, and that two others taken to NYU Langone were expected to recover.
Police described a chain reaction after the first impact
Police said Konoplyov continued after the first impact and hit the rear passenger side of a 2021 Chevy Equinox driven by a 71-year-old man, then hit a traffic signal pole. Police also said debris from the Toyota reached the windshield of a parked, unattended 2021 Chevy Traverse.
The official record includes the southbound Toyota sedan, the eastbound Honda SUV, a southbound Chevrolet SUV and a parked Chevrolet SUV among the involved vehicle entries.
Police charged the Toyota driver
Police charged Konoplyov with manslaughter after the deaths. The Post reported he also faced two counts of aggravated unlicensed operation; Brooklyn Paper reported two manslaughter counts and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The official vehicle record for the Toyota sedan records the driver's license status as unlicensed.