Teen driver charged after two passengers die in Washington Heights
At 6:38 a.m. on July 3, 2023, at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street, police said a 16-year-old driving a stolen Hyundai was in a crash that killed teen passengers Daniel Duran and Daniel Rodriguez.
What We Know
A 16-year-old was driving a stolen 2019 Hyundai Elantra north on Audubon Avenue with four teen passengers when the crash happened at West 179th Street, according to police accounts and the official record. A 53-year-old driver in a westbound 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee hit the Hyundai as it crossed the intersection, police later said; the Hyundai then hit parked vehicles and overturned. Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17, died at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, and four other people were injured. The city crash record lists traffic-control disregard and, for the Hyundai, unsafe speed; it also lists the Hyundai driver as unlicensed. Police arrested the 16-year-old on manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other charges.
Police later accused the teen Hyundai driver
The official crash record places the crash at 6:38 a.m. on July 3, 2023. The Daily News also described an early-morning crash around 6:30 a.m.; Gothamist and 1010 WINS reported about 6:30 p.m., creating a time discrepancy in the press accounts.
Police said the 16-year-old was driving a stolen 2019 Hyundai Elantra north on Audubon Avenue with four teen passengers. As the Hyundai crossed West 179th Street, police later said a 53-year-old driver in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee hit it; the Hyundai then hit parked vehicles and overturned.
Two teen passengers died, and four people were injured
Police identified the passengers who died as Daniel Duran, 15, and Daniel Rodriguez, 17. The official record lists both fatal victims as rear-seat passengers in the Hyundai.
Gothamist reported that the 16-year-old Hyundai driver and two 15-year-old passengers were taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition, while the 53-year-old Jeep driver was taken there in stable condition. The Daily News described the Jeep driver's injuries as minor.
The impact involved moving and parked vehicles
The official record lists a 2019 Hyundai sedan traveling north, a 2011 Jeep SUV traveling west, and three parked vehicles: a 2023 Jeep SUV, a 2021 Audi SUV and a 2016 Honda sedan.
Gothamist reported that after the first impact, the Hyundai hit the parked 2023 Jeep and overturned, setting off additional damage among parked vehicles on the block.
Investigators cited disregard for traffic controls and speed
The city crash record lists traffic-control disregard as a contributing factor for the crash. The Hyundai entry also lists unsafe speed and says the Hyundai driver was unlicensed.
The Daily News reported on the day of the crash that police were still determining which driver caused it and that no charges had been filed at that time. By July 12, police had arrested the 16-year-old Hyundai driver and charged him with offenses including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, criminal possession of stolen property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.
The intersection sits by the Alexander Hamilton Bridge approach
The crash happened at Audubon Avenue and West 179th Street in Washington Heights, in Manhattan's 10033 ZIP code. The Daily News described the intersection as just feet from the entrance to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge to the Bronx.
CrashCountNYC's street-level context for Audubon Avenue in Manhattan recorded 300 crashes, 162 injuries, 21 serious injuries and 3 deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.