By Rich Bockmann
The driver of a second car that veered into the water early Saturday morning not far from where four passengers drowned in Steinway Creek hours earlier was still on the lam, cops said.
The motorist, whom police know only as “Mike,” fled the scene after he drove a 2010 Toyota sedan into the East River at 20th Avenue around 4 a.m. Saturday, police said.
The eerie accident happened about a mile away from the spot where the driver of a 2009 Honda Accord managing to pull himself out of a car that plunged into Steinway Creek Friday night, killing four passengers.
Police said the owner of the Toyota, 29-year-old Adeel Khan, also left the scene and was arrested on charges of giving a false name after he checked himself into Elmhurst Hospital.
According to the New York Post, the Toyota’s passengers told police they had just met the driver when they were at Astoria’s Club Central and he offered to be the designated driver for a trip to the Neptune Diner.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
