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Car crashes into midtown fire hydrant, killing passenger, NYPD says

A passenger in a car was killed and the driver critically injured when the vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant in midtown Manhattan early Tuesday morning, May 31, 2016.
A passenger in a car was killed and the driver critically injured when the vehicle crashed into a fire hydrant in midtown Manhattan early Tuesday morning, May 31, 2016. Photo Credit: Courtesy of New York Transit Museum

The driver of a car that crashed into a midtown fire hydrant was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, police said.

Shiva Sharma, 32, was driving north on Sixth Avenue near 54th Street around 4 a.m. on Tuesday when he lost control of the car, and drove onto the sidewalk, hitting the fire hydrant, police said.

Juan Avila, the 33-year-old passenger, was rushed to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital where, police said, he was pronounced dead. Avila was from Jackson Heights, cops said.

Sharma, from Wyandanch, was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center in critical but stable condition, according to police.

The investigation is ongoing.