Drunk driver sentenced after two men die in Queens crash
Tamir Khan drove drunk through a stop sign at 117th Street and 111th Avenue in Queens, prosecutors said, causing a crash that official records show killed two motorists.
What We Know
The official record lists two motorists killed at 117th Street and 111th Avenue in Queens at 4:24 a.m. on June 5, 2023. Police and prosecutors said Tamir Khan drove a 2013 Audi A4 north on 117th Street while intoxicated, went through a stop sign and hit a 2001 Toyota Camry traveling west on 111th Avenue. Inderdeo John, 64, died that morning, and Charles Harris, 71, died the next day. Prosecutors said Khan later pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and DWI charges; a Queens judge sentenced him to seven to 21 years in prison.
A predawn crash at a Queens intersection killed two men
The crash happened about 4:24 a.m. at 117th Street and 111th Avenue. The official record lists two sedans traveling straight before impact and two motorists killed.
Police and prosecutors said Khan drove north on 117th Street in a 2013 Audi A4 and went through a stop sign before hitting a 2001 Toyota Camry traveling west on 111th Avenue. Prosecutors said the crash sent the Camry into a utility pole, and the official record lists two parked sedans as damaged.
The men who died were neighbors from South Ozone Park
Press accounts identify the 64-year-old driver as Inderdeo John; one article rendered his name as John Inderdeo. Prosecutors said John, a retiree from 128th Street in South Ozone Park, often volunteered to drive friends and neighbors.
Charles Harris, 71, was riding in the front passenger seat. Prosecutors said John was driving Harris to his job as a custodian at a nearby public school; Harris died the next day from head and chest injuries.
Authorities cited drunk driving, speed and a stop-sign violation
The official record lists traffic-control disregard for the drivers of both moving sedans, and alcohol involvement for the Audi driver. Prosecutors said Khan drove at a high rate of speed on a residential block, went through the stop sign and later returned to the scene.
According to a criminal complaint described by the Daily News, Khan told police, “I was driving” and “I blew the stop sign and I think I killed the man.” The complaint also said police found him in an intoxicated condition; prosecutors later said an Intoxilyzer exam about two hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol content of .09 percent.
Khan pleaded guilty and received a prison sentence
Queens prosecutors said Khan pleaded guilty in July 2024 to aggravated vehicular homicide and DWI charges, satisfying the charges against him. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise sentenced him to seven to 21 years in prison.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called the deaths “a preventable tragedy caused by drunk driving.”
The crash site sits on a Queens corridor with repeated harm
The fatal crash occurred at 117th Street and 111th Avenue in Queens. Along 111th Avenue in Queens, CrashCountNYC recorded 445 crashes, 290 injuries, 13 serious injuries and 4 deaths from the start of 2022 through June 1, 2026.