A Far Rockaway man has been charged with vehicular homicide after allegedly driving drunk and causing a car crash that killed his passenger in September, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Nicholas Thompson, 35, was arraigned in a Queens court on Monday and faces a 13-count indictment, which includes several charges of homicide and manslaughter.
On Sept. 26, around 6:30 p.m., Thompson was driving a 2015 BMW eastbound on Rockaway Boulevard in Far Rockaway at around 100 miles per hour, according to Katz. Jolenna Favor, a 32-year-old from Far Rockaway, was riding in the passenger seat.
Thompson, who was later found to be driving the car with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, sped by an unmarked police car and quickly lost control of the car, according to the criminal complaint.
The BMW veered off the road, plowed through a metal fence and crashed into several trees, Katz said.
Officers who witnessed the crash approached the vehicle and saw Thompson get out of the driver’s seat, according to the DA. Favor remained in the passenger seat, where she had suffered severe trauma to her head and body. EMS personnel pronounced her dead at the scene of the crash.
Though Thompson refused to submit to a Breathalyzer test, police soon were granted a court-authorized search warrant of his blood, which later revealed that he had been driving drunk, according to the authorities.
Thompson faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges. He’ll return to court on Nov. 23.
