A Richmond Hill man was sentenced Monday to seven to 21 years in prison for a drunk driving collision that killed two neighbors from South Ozone Park in June 2023.
Tamir Khan, 23, of 117th Street, pleaded guilty in Queens Supreme Court in July to aggravated vehicular homicide and DWI charges for speeding through a Richmond Hill intersection and slamming into a vehicle driven by Inderdeo John, who was driving Charles Harris to his job as a custodian at a nearby public school.
According to the charges, on June 5, 2023, at approximately 4:24 a.m., Khan was behind the wheel of a gray Audi 4A traveling northbound on 117th Street at a high rate of speed on a residential block, when he blew through a stop sign at the intersection of 111th Avenue and t-boned a 2001 Toyota Camry before driving away from the scene of the crash. The Camry had spun out and smashed into a utility pole. Khan returned to the crash location about a half hour later and admitted he had been driving the vehicle.
EMS responded to the scene and rushed John, 64, of 128th Street in South Ozone Park, to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead later that morning. His passenger Harris, 71, also of 128th Street in South Ozone Park, was also transported by EMS to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was initially listed in critical condition, but succumbed to his head and chest injuries and died the next day.
John was a retiree who often volunteered to drive his friends and neighbors. An Intoxilyzer exam given to Khan approximately two hours after the fatal collision indicated that he had a blood alcohol content of .09%, which was above the DWI threshold of .08%.
The Audi’s windshield was tinted and had a light transmittance of 37%, and the light transmittance on the front driver’s side window was 17%. Neither met the legal threshold of 70% or greater.
“The reckless and selfish behavior of the defendant, who chose to get behind the wheel after drinking, cost two men their lives and left a wide circle of family and friends heartbroken,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “This is yet one more example of a preventable tragedy caused by drunk driving.”
Khan was also charged with vehicle manslaughter, assault, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, two counts of criminally negligent homicide, two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and other related crimes. His guilty plea to aggravated vehicular homicide satisfied all charges against him, and Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise sentenced him to 7-21 years imprisonment.
