Photo Courtesy of Foursquare/Harris L.
The crash occurred on the westbound Long Island Expressway service road near 84th Street.
By Forum Staff
A Connecticut man has been sentenced to up to 12 years in prison for striking and killing a 19-year-old man riding a dirt bike on the Long Island Expressway in September 2021, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Monday.
Jorge Serrano, 30, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide before Justice Ira Margulis on Sept. 16. On Monday, Margulis sentenced Serrano to an indeterminate term of 4 to 12 years for aggravated vehicular homicide and a concurrent sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years for vehicular assault in the first degree.
According to court records, in the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 2021, Serrano was driving westbound on the Long Island Expressway when he struck a moped and a dirt bike also headed westbound. After striking the dirt bike, Serrano’s vehicle dragged the victim, Edwin Puma, approximately 100 yards on the highway causing his death. Serrano then drove away from the scene of the accident.
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After the collision, cops found Serrano and his vehicle approximately two miles from the scene of the crash, partially parked on the curb and partially in the middle of the crosswalk at Maspeth Avenue and 61st Street.
Additionally, the operator of the moped, a 23-year-old man, was taken to a borough hospital for treatment of a broken left leg.
Katz said after the collision, police officers found Serrano and his vehicle approximately two miles from the scene of the crash, partially parked on the curb and partially in the middle of the crosswalk at Maspeth Avenue and 61st Street. At the time of his arrest, Serrano’s blood ethanol level was 0.16—two times the legal limit. Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles records showed that Serrano was driving without a valid license.
“Rules of the road are not mere suggestions, but laws that exist to help keep everyone on the road safe,” Katz said. “The defendant has now been held to account for not abiding by these laws and sentenced by the court for his actions.”
