Drivers charged in deadly Cross Island Pkwy crash

Two young motorists who were purportedly driving at a high rate of speed on the Cross Island Parkway have been charged with causing the death of a teenage passenger and injuring seven others in their vehicles — including themselves.
The defendants have been identified as Milton G. Flores, 20, of 35-22 93rd Street in Jackson Heights, and Bolivar R. Camacho, 18, of 94-17 31st Street in East Elmhurst. Both are charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree vehicular assault and criminally negligent homicide. Flores, who has a prior record, is additionally charged with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree vehicular assault and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Camacho is is currently awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court. Flores was hospitalized following the August 14 accident; according to the district attorney, a determination will be made as to whether there will be a bedside arraignment or wait until he is released from the hospital.
If convicted, the defendants face up to 15 years in prison.
According to the charges, the defendants were operating their vehicles in excess of 70 miles per hour and appeared to be racing one another while weaving in and out of traffic and narrowly missing crashing into other vehicles. At approximately 12:20 a.m., as the pair was exiting the Cross Island Parkway and heading onto the Van Wyck Expressway, their vehicles made contact, resulting in a fatal accident that included several passengers being ejected from the Chevrolet Trailblazer that Flores was driving. At the scene, Flores was allegedly observed to have bloodshot, watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath.
Of the five passengers in Flores’ vehicle, Jonathan Reyes, 19, of East Elmhurst, was pronounced dead an hour later at the hospital; Amy Koo, 16, of Jackson Heights, Elder Valencia, 23, of Elmhurst, and Marcus Akus, 19, were all ejected from the vehicle and suffered very serious injuries and are listed in critical condition; and Henry Hernandez, 19, of Jackson Heights, who was not ejected, is also listed in critical condition.
Jonathan Garcia, 20, of Enterprise, Alabama, who was a passenger in Camacho’s two-door Honda and was not ejected, suffered non-threatening injuries.