A Brooklyn man was indicted Monday by a Queens grand jury in connection to a fatal hit-and-run collision on the Rockaway Boardwalk near Beach 47th Street in Arverne in 2022.
Raytawon Wright, 26, of Rockaway Avenue in Ocean Hill, was arrested Monday morning and booked at the NYPD 105th Precinct in Queens Village and arraigned in Queens Supreme Court hours later on an indictment charging him with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, reckless driving and other crimes. Wright, who was riding a dirt bike on the boardwalk, allegedly crashed the vehicle into a pedestrian, and his passenger, David Molina of Cedarhurst, Long Island, was killed when he was ejected from the bike during the Aug. 29, 2022 incident.
Police from the NYPD 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway responded to a 911 call of a motorcycle collision at the location just after 3 p.m. on the day of the crash. They found a 55-year-old male pedestrian with minor head injuries and Molina with severe head trauma. EMS responded and pronounced Molina dead at the scene and transported the injured pedestrian to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition with minor injuries.
An investigation by the NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad determined that Wright was operating a 2022 Qipai Hunier dirt bike westbound on the boardwalk with Molina on board as a passenger when Wright lost control and struck a bench and then the pedestrian. During the initial collision with the bench, Molina was thrown from the dirt bike and struck his head while Wright fled the location on foot, police said.
Wright was also charged with assault, falsely reporting an incident, aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, riding with an improper license and operating a vehicle prohibited on the boardwalk, according to the indictment.
Wright pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $25,000 bail. His next court date is scheduled for May 30, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
