A Springfield Gardens couple was sentenced in Queens Supreme Court on Monday in a groundbreaking case of endangering the welfare of a child charges for allowing their 16-year-old son to drive a sports car they gave him before he was old enough to drive.
The teenager was charged with manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old Fortune Williams, who was riding in the car when the youngster was in a gruesome collision with a delivery truck while speeding more than 100 miles per hour in January 2023.
The case marks the first time parents have been convicted on endangerment charges after their child allegedly killed someone in a car crash in Queens. It is also believed to be the first of its kind prosecution in New York State, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
The boy’s father, Sean Smith, 40, and his mother, Deo Ramnarine, 43, both of 227th Street, pleaded guilty on June 11 to endangering the welfare of a child, while Ramnarine also pled guilty to disorderly conduct. While they were not sentenced to prison terms, they must comply with conditions under the plea agreement. The case against their now 17-year-old son is ongoing. He was arraigned in December on manslaughter, assault and other related crimes, and he faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count.
“The parents of a 16-year-old gave their son a BMW when he did not have legal authority to drive it anywhere in New York City,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “We allege that because of that teenager’s actions, 14-year-old Fortune Williams is dead after she was thrown from the car when it crashed into a UPS truck at more than 100 miles an hour.”
According to the investigation, just after 6:30 p.m. on May 17, 2023, at approximately 6:38 p.m., the then-16-year-old defendant was driving a red 2005 BMW 325i westbound on North Conduit Avenue near 160th Street at a speed calculated at 101 miles per hour. The posted speed limit was 30 miles per hour.
The teenager lost control of the vehicle when attempting to move from the left-center lane to the right-center lane and crashed into the back of a parked UPS truck. After hitting the truck, the BMW spun across the roadway and struck a tractor-trailer traveling westbound. As a result of the initial collision, Williams was ejected from the front passenger seat of the BMW into the back of the UPS truck. She suffered severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A UPS employee was getting into his truck just as the BMW collided with it, throwing the worker to the ground. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was treated for a large hematoma to his leg, a laceration to his face and a bruise to his chest.
At Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center in Glen Oaks, where he was being treated for minor injuries, the defendant explained to police that he had picked Williams up at her home and was taking her to his grandmother’s house. His father, who was with his son at the hospital, told police that while the BMW was registered in his name, he had bought the vehicle for his son and that the car was his son’s. The teen had a junior driver’s license, which prohibited him from driving under any circumstances in New York City.
Three weeks after the fatal crash, on June 7, Smith told the car’s insurer that his son had driven the BMW approximately twice with him in the vehicle and that his son was a good driver.
Prior to the fatal collision, in November 2022, witnesses from the defendant’s school saw him regularly driving the same BMW, and a school administrator informed the parents that their child was driving to school. The teen was also ticketed in November 2022 for driving without a license and driving while using a portable electronic device. His name is being withheld because of his age.
“With this conviction, we have shown that the culpability in a fatal crash can go beyond the driver,” Katz said. “Parents who provide vehicles to their children and let them drive illegally can be held responsible in the case of tragedies such as this one. We will continue to seek justice for Fortune Williams and her grieving family.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky sentenced Smith to three years probation, and he must complete a 26-week parenting class and attend the Victim Impact Panel Program. Ramnarine was sentenced to a 26-week parenting class and must attend the Victim Impact Panel Program. If she successfully completes both, she will be allowed to withdraw her plea for endangering the welfare of a child and only the disorderly conduct charge will stand, according to the plea agreement.
