A teenage driver and his parents have been charged in connection with the death of a 14-year-old girl who was a passenger in a car sheared in half after a high-speed crash into a parked UPS truck in Queens this past spring.
Fortune Williams was riding in a red BMW sedan that police said was traveling more than 100 mph along North Conduit Avenue in Springfield Gardens Wednesday evening. The car, being driven by a 16-year-old, could be seen on security video driving down the street before slamming into a parked UPS truck near the corner of 160th Street.
Prosecutors say the BMW was a gift from the teenage driver's father, and while a junior license allowed him to drive accompanied by an adult age 21 or older, there was no adult of that age in the car at the time of the May 17 accident.
Now 17-year-old, the driver was arraigned Tuesday on manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and other charges. His name hasn't been released because of his age. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Also charged: the parents of the driver, 43-year-old Deo Ramnarine and 39-year-old Sean Smith, of Springfield Gardens. They are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and permitting unlicensed operation of a vehicle. Information on an attorney for the parents wasn't immediately available. They each face up to a year in prison if convicted.
The hard-to-watch video shows the UPS worker getting knocked down just as he was about to step inside. Prosecutors say the man has not returned to work since the accident and needs surgery to repair a torn shoulder muscle.
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The passenger side of the BMW plowed into the delivery truck, and the out-of-control car came to a screeching halt immediately after impact. Prosecutors say the BMW was traveling at 101 mph. The posted speed limit was 30 mph.
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Remnants of the deadly crash were left scattered over the road, where a memorial was left for the teenager, a freshman at Springfield Gardens High School who had dreams of becoming a doctor.
Fortune Williams' mother, Keisha Francis, spoke to News 4 in the aftermath of her daughter's death.
"My beautiful, smart daughter. She was very beautiful, smart, loving, kind, caring, sweet. Everything that’s good a mother would want," Francis said. "She loved music. She loved to dance and she wanted to be a doctor and in high school she was doing nursing."
Francis said she spoke to her daughter before the crash. She said they ended the call the same way they always ended conversations.
"When I was hanging up she said, 'Mom I love you.' Everyday. Every morning. She tell me she loved me," Francis said.
