A Brooklyn man was criminally charged with staging a car crash on the Belt Parkway in Rosedale last month that was captured on the dashboard camera in the victim’s car and went viral on social media after it was posted on TikTok, where it was viewed by millions worldwide.
Maikel Martinez, 28, of 14th Avenue in Dyker Heights, was apprehended by law enforcement Thursday at JFK Airport after arriving back in Queens on a flight from Ecuador, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Friday.
Martinez was arraigned on Thursday night in Queens Criminal Court on charges of staging a motor vehicle accident, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, conspiracy, and insurance fraud.
According to the charges, on Oct. 16, at approximately 11:11 a.m., Ashpia Natasha was driving north on the left-hand lane of the Belt Parkway in Rosedale near the Nassau County border. The woman’s vehicle was equipped with both a front and rear dashboard camera. At that time, a silver Honda Civic cut in front of Natasha’s vehicle and abruptly came to a stop. The victim was forced to slam on her brakes to avoid a collision. The Honda then quickly backed up into Natasha’s vehicle, damaging both her car and the Honda.
@ashpianatasha4 Insurance fraud attempt in Queens, NY 10-16-2024 PART 1 I was driving in the left lane of the Belt Parkway going East bound towards the Southern State Parkway. The silver Honda (LBB 8917) was in the middle lane, and they cut me off and slammed on the brakes coming to a full stop hoping I would hit them. I did not hit their car and because of that they reversed into my car for collision and acted as if they were injured while coming out of their vehicle. I believe the intention was to say I hit their car for insurance fraud purposes. They had a tarp covering the rear windshield which fell off once they hit my car. You can see the driver is a male wearing a hat and you can see him switching to the passenger seat as well as the movement of the car before anyone gets out. The first three passengers exit the car pretending to be hurt, while the fourth passenger who was driving slips out through the passenger seat and gets into a second vehicle. That second vehicle was a red KIA SUV (KJH 3340) which was following me from behind and keeping distance so they wouldn’t slam into me. The red KIA drove around and picked up the driver to get away. The remaining three people’s demeanor changed once one of them noticed the dashcam. They only came out of the car with their phones ready to record the damage to both cars. They were quick to ask for my insurance and quickly left after the exchange. I called the police at the time of the incident and reported it as an accident, and the police told me they no longer go to an accident if no one is injured and they are willing to exchange information. I did not realize at the time that the driver switched and left in another car or that it was a set-up as I was driving by myself, and everything happened so fast. #queensny #car #caraccident #exposed #newyork #brooklynny @nbcnews @abcnews @nypd @geico @allstate @pix11ny ♬ original sound – Ashpia Natasha
The occupants of the Honda held up what appeared to be a plastic tarp in the rear window area of the car that partially obstructed the victim driver’s view inside the Honda, and the occupants of the vehicle switched their seating arrangement within the Honda.
Following the collision, four people exited the Honda including a woman who got out of the driver’s side and a man who identified himself as Maikel Martinez and said the purported driver was his wife. Another woman and a man who exited the Honda are presently unidentified, according to the DA’s office.
The footage surrounding the crash showed a red Kia Sport following Natasha’s car. After the crash, the Kia stopped in front of the Honda and a fourth occupant of the Honda exited that car and got into the Kia, which drove away from the scene. The investigation by the NYPD remains ongoing.
“The defendant and others allegedly staged a crash on a busy highway and rammed an unsuspecting driver with their vehicle after they forcibly stopped her on the left lane of the Belt Parkway,” Katz said. “Countless lives were jeopardized due to this reckless conduct.”
Martinez pleaded not guilty and Queens Criminal Court Judge Jerry Iannece ordered him to return to court on Jan. 7, 2025. If convicted, Martinez faces up to 2 ⅓ years to seven years in prison.
“This investigation is very much ongoing,” Katz said. “And I encourage anyone who suspects that they may have been a victim in a staged car crash to call the NYPD’s Office of Fraudulent Collision Investigation Squad at 718-822-5403.”
