Police have charged a man in connection with a crash in Queens over the weekend that killed a mother and critically injured her 9-year-old daughter, the NYPD said.
Jairam Budhu, 58, of Queens, is accused of fleeing the scene after police said he blew a stop sign and crashed a 2002 BMW X5 into a 2010 Toyota Corolla just after 5 p.m. on Sunday.
The crash happened at the intersection of 115th Avenue and 130th Street in South Ozone Park, Queens, according to police.
The BMW also hit three parked cars before coming to a stop. Investigators said it is believed Budhu was traveling at a high rate of speed when the crash occurred.
A woman, identified as 40-year-old Zaalika Rasool, of Queens, and her daughter were ejected from the back seat of the Toyota during the crash, police said. They were both found unconscious and unresponsive in the street with trauma to the head and body.
Rasool was pronounced dead at the scene, according to investigators. The girl was taken to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in critical condition.
First responders also treated the 47-year-old male driver of the Toyota and a 71-year-old male passenger, police said. A 46-year-old male passenger in the BMW was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for treatment of unknown injuries.
Budhu faces a slew of charges, including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, leaving the scene of an accident causing injury and aggravated unlicensed operator, police said.
