Moped Passenger Dies After Fresh Meadows Crash With Acura Driver
A 17-year-old rider carrying Juan Aguilar east on 73rd Avenue crashed with a 75-year-old Acura driver at 184th Street in Fresh Meadows, where official records list unsafe speed and one death.
What We Know
The Aug. 23, 2024, crash happened at 73rd Avenue and 184th Street in Fresh Meadows. The official record lists a moped traveling east with two occupants and a 2017 Acura SUV traveling north; it records one death and one injury. Gothamist, citing police, reported that a 17-year-old rider and 21-year-old Juan Aguilar were headed east when the crash involved a 75-year-old Acura RDX driver. Aguilar, a Queens resident, was pronounced dead at a hospital, and the 17-year-old was stable. The Acura driver remained at the scene, and police reported no arrests as the investigation continued. One reviewed article reported two deaths, which differs from the official record and Gothamist's NYPD account.
Evening crash at 73rd Avenue and 184th Street
At 6:32 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2024, the official record places the crash at 73 Avenue and 184 Street in Queens. It records one person killed and one person injured, both motorists.
Police told Gothamist that a 17-year-old and 21-year-old Juan Aguilar were headed east on a two-wheeler when the crash involved a 75-year-old man driving a 2017 Acura RDX. Aguilar was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, while the 17-year-old remained in stable condition.
MetroLaw reported that both the operator and passenger died, which differs from the official record and Gothamist's NYPD account, which describe one death.
Juan Aguilar was the passenger who died
The official person record lists the person killed as a 21-year-old male passenger on the moped. Gothamist identified him as Queens resident Juan Aguilar.
Gothamist reported that the 75-year-old Acura driver remained at the scene and did not sustain injuries. Police said no arrests had been made as the investigation continued.
Records and reports describe the movements before impact
The official vehicle file lists a 2023 Jiajue moped carrying two people, traveling east and going straight before the crash. It assigns unsafe speed to the moped as a contributing factor.
The other driver was in a 2017 Acura listed by officials as an SUV or station wagon traveling north and going straight. Gothamist described the vehicle as an Acura RDX driven by a 75-year-old man.
The reviewed news accounts called the two-wheeler a motorcycle, while the official vehicle detail classifies it as a moped.
73rd Avenue is a recurring crash corridor
The crash site is at 73rd Avenue and 184th Street in Queens. CrashCountNYC's street context identifies the broader 73rd Avenue corridor in Queens as the site of 432 crashes, 293 injuries, 28 serious injuries and 4 deaths since 2022.
Unsafe speed is listed in the official record
The official collision record lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor, and the vehicle file assigns that factor to the moped. MetroLaw reported that authorities were investigating speed and possible traffic violations.