Unlicensed SUV driver charged after Upper East Side scooter death
Juan Vadel, 19, died after a late-night scooter and SUV crash at East 79th Street and Second Avenue, where police said driver Shraga Orgad was later charged with unlicensed driving.
What We Know
Juan Vadel, 19, of Flushing, was riding a gas-powered scooter south on Second Avenue just before midnight on July 14, 2024, when he and an eastbound SUV driver collided at East 79th Street, police told local outlets. City crash data records one motorist killed and one injured, and lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor. Police identified the SUV driver as Shraga Orgad, 26, and said he was treated for minor injuries, then arrested and charged with driving without a license. Published accounts differ on the impact after the initial collision: one said Vadel hit a light pole, another said he hit the ground, and a third said Orgad later hit a light pole.
What police and city records say happened
City crash data records the crash at 11:53 p.m. on July 14, 2024, at East 79th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan. The record lists a moped and a station wagon or sport utility vehicle, with one motorist killed and one motorist injured.
Police told local outlets that Juan Vadel, 19, of Flushing, was riding a gas-powered scooter south on Second Avenue when he and an eastbound Volvo SUV driver collided at East 79th Street. Medics took Vadel to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he died.
East 79th Street and Second Avenue
The crash happened at East 79th Street and Second Avenue on the Upper East Side. CrashCountNYC location data for the Second Avenue corridor in Manhattan shows 3,205 crashes, 1,880 injuries, 131 serious injuries and 12 deaths since 2022.
Driver charged after hospital treatment
Police identified the SUV driver as Shraga Orgad, 26, of Brooklyn. They said he was treated for minor injuries, listed in stable condition, and later arrested and charged with driving without a license after being discharged from the hospital.
The NYPD Highway Collision Investigation Squad was investigating the crash, according to Patch.
Traffic control and conflicting impact accounts
The city crash record lists traffic control disregarded as a contributing factor. It also records the moped driver and the SUV driver as unlicensed.
Published police accounts differ on what happened after the initial collision. amNY reported that Vadel was ejected and hit a light pole; one Patch story reported that he hit the ground on the side of the road; another Patch story reported that Orgad lost control after the collision and hit a light pole.