Police Arrest One Driver After Fatal Hempstead Avenue Hit-and-Run
A 66-year-old pedestrian was killed on Hempstead Avenue at about 8:05 p.m. on Dec. 10, 2023, and police later said Osman Zavala-Varela was arrested after two drivers hit Gary Charlotin and left the scene.
What We Know
Gary Charlotin was killed while crossing Hempstead Avenue near 223rd Street in Queens on Dec. 10, 2023. The city record places the crash at about 8:05 p.m. and lists one pedestrian killed, with a sedan and an SUV involved. Police told CBS New York that one driver hit Charlotin and did not stop, and that a second driver hit him while he was on the ground and also left. Police said they arrested Osman Zavala-Varela and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failure to obey a traffic signal. The official record and CBS described Charlotin as 66; Streetsblog reported he was 68.
Two drivers left Gary Charlotin in the street
A driver hit Gary Charlotin as he crossed Hempstead Avenue near 223rd Street on Dec. 10, 2023, and did not stop, police told CBS New York. Police said a second driver then hit Charlotin while he was lying on the ground and also left; he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The city record places the crash at about 8:05 p.m. and records one pedestrian killed and no reported injuries to motorists, cyclists, or other pedestrians.
Charlotin's age is reported differently: the city record and CBS listed him as 66, while Streetsblog reported 68.
Hempstead Avenue had a heavy crash toll that year
The fatal crash was reported on Hempstead Avenue near 223rd Street in Queens Village.
Streetsblog reported that 118 crashes occurred in 2023 on the short stretch of Hempstead Avenue west of the Cross Island Parkway, injuring 50 people.
Police charged one driver and were still looking for the second
Police said they arrested 36-year-old Osman Zavala-Varela of Hempstead after the Dec. 10 crash and charged him with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failure to obey a traffic signal.
Streetsblog reported that police had not found the second driver as of its article.
The record lists a sedan and an SUV
The city record lists a 2004 Toyota sedan traveling west and a 2023 Chevrolet SUV traveling east, with each driver going straight ahead before the crash and center-front damage recorded on both vehicles. One person was recorded in each vehicle.
Streetsblog described the second driver as being behind the wheel of a light-colored SUV.
Driver inattention was recorded for both drivers
After the crash, the city record named driver inattention or distraction as a contributing factor for each driver.
The pedestrian record describes Charlotin as crossing away from an intersection and lists pedestrian error or confusion; those entries sit alongside the police account that two drivers left the scene.