A reckless driver from New York City has been found and incarcerated after fleeing the scene of a fatal accident on Saturday that left one person dead and another injured.
According to the New York Daily News, 23-year-old Queens resident Duke Obule was driving his new BMW through Franklin Square in Long Island when he plowed directly into a taxi cab.
Obule’s luxury vehicle was moving so fast that it pushed the taxi across two full lanes of traffic, where it finally came to rest after slamming into a power pole. Witnesses say that Obule then frantically sped away from the scene of the crash.
The hit-and-run driver was eventually found by authorities on the Hempstead Turnpike about one mile away from the scene of the crime. He is now being charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident and vehicular manslaughter.
The 47-year-old taxi driver, whose name has not yet been revealed, is believed to have died immediately upon impact. His passenger, a 20-year-old woman, survived the ordeal with a broken left foot.
About 32,675 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes throughout the U.S. in 2014, with another 2.3 million people suffering accident-related injuries. Crash fatalities are more common in urban areas like New York City, which have narrow streets that are not suited for speeding.
Unfortunately, Obule’s crime is not the only hit-and-run accident that occurred in Queens over the weekend. As the New York Daily News also reported, police are still searching for the driver of a silver Ford Fusion that crashed into a church van near Princeton St.
The driver in this accident was also speeding when he blew through a stop sign and T-boned the red Dodge church van. Six people, including an infant boy, are still hospitalized as a result of the crash.
As for Obule, he is currently being held without bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment on Sunday morning, according to Newsday.
