A Rockaway Beach man was arrested on Tuesday, Aug. 20, after he was indicted by a Queens grand jury two years after a fatal collision that killed his girlfriend’s sister.
Javon Galette, 30, of Shore Front Parkway, was arraigned later that day in Queens Criminal Court, where he was charged with criminally negligent homicide and other related crimes for the gruesome crash that killed 25-year-old Brigitte Mercado of Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, who was riding in the backseat and was impaled by a metal fence post during the collision.
According to the indictment, Galette was behind the wheel of a Honda Accord and allegedly “engaged in reckless driving” on the night of Sunday, July 24, 2022, traveling southbound on Rockaway Boulevard when he struck a curb at Brookville Boulevard before crashing into a metal fence with such force that a fence pole came through the windshield and pierced Mercado in the chest. Her sister Ashleigh was also injured in the collision while sitting in the front passenger seat, police said.
EMS responded to the scene and rushed Brigitte Mercado to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, where she was pronounced dead. EMS transported Galette and his girlfriend to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. He was initially listed in critical condition but recovered, while his girlfriend was listed in stable condition and recovered from her injuries.
The NYPD’s Highway Collision Investigation Squad determined that Galette was speeding on Rockaway Boulevard when he lost control of the Honda Accord and crashed.
Galette was also charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and aggravated vehicular assault during his arraignment before Queens Criminal Court Judge Danielle Hartman, who ordered him to return to court on Oct. 2.
