A driver was indicted on manslaughter charges for allegedly killing two men in a brutal Inwood crash two months ago, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Monday.
Bronxite Leandro Diaz-Ramirez, 28, faces five to 15 years behind bars for the crash that killed Joel Adames and David Fernandez, and injured several more in the uptown neighborhood during the early hours of Aug. 3, according to the D.A.’s office.
“As alleged, this reckless speeding and driving ended in tragedy,” D.A. Bragg said in a statement on Oct. 3. “Manhattanites should not be killed by drivers when they are simply walking in their neighborhood. We will continue to protect the safety of pedestrians and drivers on our streets.”
Diaz-Ramirez allegedly sped through a red light at Sherman Avenue and W. 207th Street at around 4 a.m., going 59 miles per hour — more than double the 25 mph limit — and T-boning another driver in a Subaru, sending the other vehicle skidding onto the sidewalk and crushing pedestrians Adames, 31, and Fernandez, 40.
Manhattan’s top prosecutor also charged the defendant with criminally negligent homicide for both the victims that died.
Diaz-Ramirez got another four charges of assault for injuring four other people in the collision, including the Subaru driver, who suffered broken ribs and pelvis.
He stayed on the scene after the crash, but cops didn’t arrest him until more than a month later on Sept. 14.
His attorney, Tracey Kim Tae of the Legal Aid Society, declined to comment through a spokesperson for the legal organization.
The 34th Precinct covering Inwood and Washington Heights has had an uptick in crash fatalities so far this year, with one more death for a total of five in 2022, compared to four during the same time last year.
Meanwhile, overall city road deaths are on the decline by 5.1% during that time, according to NYPD statistics through Sunday.
Sherman Avenue is a known dangerous roadway that city street planners have been trying to make safer with redesigns for years.
Over the past 11 years, 79 people have been injured and two have died in 58 crashes just at that intersection, according to data collected by the website Crash Mapper.
