A Queens grand jury indicted a former FDNY firefighter from Oakland Gardens on manslaughter and DWI charges for a pre-dawn collision that killed a motorist on Northern Boulevard in East Elmhurst in late February.
Michael Pena, 28, of 220th Street, was arraigned Thursday in Queens Supreme Court on a 14-count indictment charging him with manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter, and other related crimes. Pena is accused of speeding through a red light at 107th Street while drunk and high—traveling three times the speed limit—before crashing into a car driven by 23-year-old Justin Diaz, who had the right of way.
“Drunk, drugged, and reckless driving are dire threats to everyone on our shared roadways,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
According to the charges and indictment, around 4:14 a.m. on Feb. 26, Pena was driving a silver Mercedes-Benz S63 Coupe eastbound on Northern Boulevard when he ran a steady red light at 83 mph in a 25-mph zone, slamming into the driver’s side of a purple BMW operated by Diaz.
Diaz, a resident of Suydam Street in Bushwick, had spent the night at his parents’ home just a block and a half from the crash site. He was on his way to work an early morning shift at LaGuardia Airport. The force of the impact sent his car into a parked vehicle. EMS rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital with severe trauma, where he was pronounced dead due to his injuries a short while later.
Pena stayed at the scene where a police officer from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights smelled a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, watery eyes, slurred speech and he was unsteady on his feet, according to the indictment. A breath test indicated Pena had a blood alcohol content of .156%, which is above the legal threshold of.08%. He also allegedly had cocaine and marijuana in his system.
“As alleged, the defendant made a selfish decision to drink, use drugs, and speed down Northern Boulevard at more than three times the posted speed limit when he slammed into another car, killing the driver,” Katz said.
Pena was additionally charged with assault, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, and other charges.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis remanded Pena into custody without bail and ordered him to return to court on May 15. If convicted of the top count, Pena faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
“The defendant has now been indicted on serious charges as my office continues to seek justice for the victim and his loved ones,” Katz said.
Family and friends of the victim filled the courtroom and spoke out after the grand jury indictment was unsealed. His mother, Toni Diaz, said her heart is broken forever.
“My son was a great kid, he was very ambitious, he had everything going for him in life, and Michael Pena stole that from him,” she said. “He will never see his own children. He will never be able to be married. He will never be able to use his career because of the negligence of Michael Pena.”
Following the collision, Pena was taken into custody and booked at the 115th Precinct, where he told a detective from the NYPD’s Highway District Collision Investigation Squad that he was driving his car after he had been bar-hopping with his friends on Bell Boulevard in Bayside and at a sports bar in Jackson Heights shortly before the fatal collision, according to the criminal complaint.
Franklin Diaz, Sr., Justin’s father, lamented that his hardworking son, who had recently finished his degree in aeronautics from Vaughn College in East Elmhurst, was killed at the young age of 23.
“My son Justin is no longer here with us because of somebody’s recklessness, depravity, and knowingly and willingly got behind the wheel under the influence of drugs and alcohol, driving triple the speed limit,’ he said. “My son Justin will no longer have a future, right? Justin had a future that was stolen, that was snatched by Michael Pena.”
Pena was assigned to Engine 304 in Queens Village but was suspended without pay following the fatal collision. The FDNY terminated him in March.
Additional reporting by Ramy Mahmoud.
