Audi Driver’s Left Turn Preceded Fatal Staten Island Crash
A 50-year-old man driving an Audi Q5 was turning left at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue just before the Jan. 2, 2026 collision that official data recorded as killing two motorists and injuring two.
What We Know
At 9:57 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2026, police recorded a two-SUV crash at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue in New Springville that killed two motorists and injured two. NYPD accounts reported by several outlets said a 50-year-old man driving an Audi Q5 was headed west on Rockland Avenue and attempting a left turn onto Forest Hill Road when the crash happened with a Honda HR-V driven by a 70-year-old woman. The people who died were identified as 6-year-old Anheli Vasquez-Trinidad and 90-year-old Gerardo Avila, both passengers in the Honda. Official crash data lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor, and no arrests had been reported while the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad continued investigating.
A left turn at the New Springville intersection
The crash happened at about 9:57 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2026, at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue. Official data lists a southbound 2019 Honda SUV going straight and a westbound 2023 Audi SUV making a left turn.
Police accounts reported by the New York Post, Gothamist and Accident Injury News said a 50-year-old man driving an Audi Q5 was attempting to turn left from Rockland Avenue onto Forest Hill Road when the collision happened with a Honda HR-V driven by a 70-year-old woman.
Two passengers died after the crash
The people who died were identified in press accounts as 6-year-old Anheli Vasquez-Trinidad and 90-year-old Gerardo Avila. Official person records list both as passengers in the Honda, with Anheli in the left rear seat and Avila in the front passenger seat.
News reports said emergency responders took Anheli, Avila and the 70-year-old Honda driver to Staten Island University Hospital North. Avila died at the hospital after the crash, and Anheli died from her injuries on Sunday. Reports said the Honda driver was in critical but stable condition, while the Audi driver was stable.
There is a records conflict about how many people were in the Honda. Official vehicle data lists two occupants in the Honda, while multiple NYPD-based news reports described three people in that vehicle: the two passengers who died and the 70-year-old woman driving.
Speed was listed in the official crash data
The official crash record lists unsafe speed as a contributing factor, and the Honda driver’s vehicle entry also lists traffic control disregarded. World Journal reported that police had not confirmed whether anyone was speeding or ran a light, and other outlets said no arrests had been made as the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad continued its investigation.
The corner had already carried a crash memorial name
The crash happened at Forest Hill Road and Rockland Avenue in New Springville. The Daily News and El Diario reported that the intersection had been renamed Brianna Gabrielle Gioia Corner in 2008 to honor a 20-year-old woman who died in a crash there.
A fundraiser followed Anheli’s death
Hoodline and Diario Libre reported that supporters created a GoFundMe for Anheli’s family after her death. Diario Libre quoted the fundraiser as describing her as “una luz inmensa que conmovía a todos los corazones que la rodeaban” and “tierna, alegre, juguetona y profundamente querida.”