By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Sunday that a South Ozone Park man has been charged with causing the death of a safety flag worker last Friday morning as she was positioned inside a construction zone on the Nassau Expressway.
Daveanand Budhai was allegedly driving at a high rate of speed near exit 1N on the Nassau Expressway, which leads to the Van Wyck Expressway.
Budhai, 25, was arraigned by the Hon. Diego Freire on a felony complaint charging him with manslaughter in the second degree, assault in the second degree, leaving the scene of a fatality without reporting, reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and related charges. Budhai was ordered to return to court on Sept. 26.
Katz said that, according to the charges, on Sept. 19, at approximately 7:28 a.m., Daveanand Budhai was operating an Infiniti sedan driving eastbound at a high rate of speed on the Nassau Expressway toward Exit 1N to the Van Wyck Expressway. At the time of the crash, the ramp was an active construction zone, and the left lane was closed and marked with multiple traffic drums and signage. The posted speed for the ramp is 25 miles per hour.
Budhai drove into the traffic drums and struck 44-year-old Isabel Alvarez, who was working as a flag person holding a “STOP/SLOW” paddle in the construction area. She was wearing her required safety equipment, including a hard hat and fluorescent reflective visibility vest.
The victim’s body was thrown approximately 168 feet and landed in the left shoulder of the roadway, which caused her death.
After hitting Alvarez, Budhai fled from the scene, exited the expressway, and drove to the intersection of 134th Street and South Conduit Avenue, which is over one mile from the collision. The defendant then called 911 to request an ambulance for injuries he sustained to his hands as a result of the collision.
When police arrived at the scene of the defendant’s 911 call, the Q50 sedan was observed to have significant front-end damage, including a shattered windshield that appeared to be broken open. Blood and glass were inside the vehicle as well as fluorescent marks on the hood and roof of the vehicle.
“As alleged, 44-year-old Isabel Alvarez was simply doing her job as a flag person at a construction site when this defendant barreled his sedan into her and threw the woman’s body 168 feet and into the shoulder of the roadway,” Katz said. “The defendant was ignoring the laws of the road, speeding and using a construction zone as his personal shortcut when his actions took the life of the worker. My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting those who endanger everyone on our roadways. Our condolences are with the family, friends and coworkers of Isabel Alvarez as they mourn her senseless loss.”
The investigation was conducted by Det. Chris Paul of the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad.
If convicted, Budhai faces up to 22 years in prison.
