Teen Operator and Passenger Killed on Cross Island Parkway
At 1:58 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2024, Andy Rodriguez, 15, was operating a moped with Giselle Flores, 19, as passenger on the southbound Cross Island Parkway near 150th Street when both were killed; police said he failed to navigate the roadway and hit a wall.
What We Know
Police and city records describe a late-night crash on Aug. 31, 2024, on the southbound Cross Island Parkway near 150th Street. Andy Rodriguez, 15, was operating a moped with Giselle Flores, 19, as passenger. Both were killed. Police accounts said Rodriguez failed to navigate the roadway and hit a wall or barrier wall. One later article reported that Giselle's sister said she was told a car was involved before the wall impact, which differs from the police accounts summarized in other reports. The city vehicle record listed the moped operator's license status as unlicensed.
A late-night ride ended at a highway wall.
The city crash record lists the crash at 1:58 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2024, at the Cross Island Parkway and 150th Street, with two people on a moped killed. News reports identified them as Andy Rodriguez, 15, the operator, and Giselle Flores, 19, his passenger.
Police told the New York Post that Rodriguez failed to navigate the roadway and hit the wall. Fox 5 reported that NYPD's collision investigators determined the operator had been traveling south on the Cross Island Parkway when he collided with a barrier wall.
Giselle Flores was remembered by her twin sister.
Sharick Flores, Giselle's fraternal twin, told the Daily News and the New York Post that Giselle had planned to return home before a family weekend gathering. She said Giselle and Rodriguez had just met that night.
Sharick described her sister as close to her and future-focused, saying they had dreamed of attending college together after Giselle finished high school. "She was my whole world," Sharick told the Post.
Reports agreed on the wall impact, but one account added another step.
Police accounts cited by the Post and Fox 5 described Rodriguez losing control or failing to navigate before the wall or barrier-wall impact. A later Post article reported Sharick Flores said she was told Rodriguez lost control, hit a car, and the pair then went into a highway wall. The reviewed sources do not resolve that difference.
The city vehicle record listed the moped operator's driver license status as unlicensed and described the 2023 Taizhou moped as traveling south before the crash.
One victim died at the scene, and one died at a hospital.
Police and news reports said Flores was found at the scene and pronounced dead there. Rodriguez was taken to Flushing Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The Post reported that police said there had been no arrests, and Fox 5 reported that the investigation was ongoing.
Where
Cross Island Pkwy & 150th St