By Bill Parry
An Astoria woman was found dead inside a burning vehicle on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn early Friday morning, according to the NYPD.
Harleen Grewal, 25, was a passenger in a 2007 Infiniti G35 driven by 23-year-old Saeed Ahmad, of Flatlands, Brooklyn, who was weaving in and out of traffic when he crashed the vehicle onto a concrete barrier near Centre Street around 4 a.m., police said.
As the car burst into flames, Ahmad emerged from the vehicle, leaving Grewal trapped inside, and in a video obtained by ABC7 he was seen hailing a taxi near the crash site. When firefighters extinguished the blaze, they discovered the victim’s body in the front passenger seat, police said. Grewal was pronounced dead at the scene, they said.
Investigators said Ahmad took a cab to Maimonides Medical Center in Borough Park, where he sought treatment for burns on his arms, legs and neck. He was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle and speeding, according to the NYPD.
Ahmad’s father, Mohammed Azam, told the New York Post his son was “crazy” for not calling 911, but his brother Waheed Ahmad, 21, said the defendant had lost his cellphone in the crash and was burned in a failed attempt to free Grewal.
Ahmad admitted to having a few drinks before the crash but was not legally drunk when his blood was tested, police said.
Ahmad is receiving treatment for his burns at Staten Island University Hospital as he awaits arraignment, according to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
