By Courtney Dentch
Keith Haigbea, 38, of Jamaica, was allegedly driving while drunk when his Ford Explorer flipped over on the eastbound lanes of the highway near 124th Street in South Ozone Park about 10:35 p.m., police said.His girlfriend, Tammy Chromer, of Bushwick, was hurled out of the front passenger seat of the truck and landed in the westbound lanes of the roadway, police said. She was then struck by a red Mercury Cougar, police said. She was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.Chromer's daughters, ages 9 and 12, were buckled into the back seat and were treated and released from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for minor injuries, police said.Haigbea was also taken to the hospital, where he was in stable condition Monday. Haigbea, a janitor at a junior high school who lives on 166th Place, and Chromer were out on a date Saturday evening and were on their way from Chromer's home to Haigbea's apartment, police said. Officers said he had been drinking earlier that evening and that he was seen speeding and weaving in and out of traffic on the Belt Parkway before the crash.Haigbea was to be charged with manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. He was awaiting arraignment Tuesday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the district attorney said. He face 15 years in prison if convicted.Police were still searching for the driver of the Mercury Cougar. Witnesses reported the man, described as a black man in his 50s, stopped his car to unbuckle the two girls who were hanging in the back of the upside-down Ford Explorer and check Chromer's pulse, police said. When he found no heartbeat, he fled, police said.Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
