Driver charged with murder after Astoria Boulevard killing
At about 4:02 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2023, at Astoria Boulevard and Steinway Street, police said Zahir Williams ran over 50-year-old Francis Ortega after an assault following a fender-bender; Ortega died and one motorist was injured.
What We Know
Francis Ortega, 50, died after a confrontation tied to an early-morning fender-bender at Astoria Boulevard and Steinway Street, according to police details reported by QNS and the city crash record. QNS reported that police charged Zahir Williams, 24, with murder, gang assault in the first degree and unauthorized use of a vehicle. The criminal complaint described an assault by Williams and two passengers before Williams returned and ran over Ortega; the official crash record lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured in a two-sedan crash at 4:02 a.m. The public sources differ on vehicle roles: QNS described Williams in a Nissan and Ortega in a BMW, while the official vehicle entries record the BMW making a right turn and the Nissan as parked.
Police described an assault after a fender-bender
QNS reported that Williams and Ortega first became involved in a fender-bender shortly after 4 a.m. The criminal complaint, citing video surveillance and witness accounts, alleged that Williams and two passengers punched and kicked Ortega beside his vehicle, that Williams stomped on Ortega, and that one associate dragged Ortega away from a car door into the roadway.
The complaint said Williams later returned and ran over Ortega. The official crash record places the fatal incident at about 4:02 a.m. and lists one pedestrian killed and one motorist injured.
The records place the death at Astoria Boulevard and Steinway Street
The official crash record lists the location as Astoria Boulevard at Steinway Street in Astoria. QNS described the scene as Astoria Boulevard South and Steinway Street, five blocks east of the 114th Precinct.
Ortega died; Williams was arrested nearly three weeks later
Francis Ortega, 50, of Division Avenue in Brooklyn, died after EMS took him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to QNS. The official record lists the person killed as a 50-year-old male pedestrian.
Police identified the arrested man as Zahir Williams, 24, of Beck Street in the Bronx. QNS reported that police arrested him on Nov. 9 and booked him at the 114th Precinct.
The vehicle accounts do not align cleanly
QNS reported that Williams was driving a Nissan with two associates when a fender-bender with Ortega, who was driving a BMW, preceded the assault. The official vehicle records list a 2012 BMW sedan with northbound travel and a right-turn movement, and a 2022 Nissan sedan with eastbound travel and a parked pre-crash status; the Nissan entry also lists one occupant and a licensed New York driver recorded as female.
QNS also reported that Williams later got into Ortega's vehicle before running over him. Because the public sources describe the vehicle roles differently, this page preserves that disagreement rather than treating one account as settled.
Police said Williams faced murder and assault charges
QNS reported that police charged Williams with murder, gang assault in the first degree and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Queens Criminal Court Judge Stephanie Zaro ordered Williams to return to court on Nov. 16.
The article reported that two other men remained at large at the time of publication.