A Queens grand jury indicted an elderly St. Albans man in connection with a hit-and-run collision that killed a South Jamaica man just steps from his home in April.
Johann Rohlehr, 73, of 171st Street, was arrested Oct. 21 and booked at the 103rd Precinct, where he was charged with leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and failure to exercise due care. He was arraigned on the indictment in Queens Supreme Court later in the day.
The NYPD Highway District’s Highway Collision Investigation Squad determined that Rohlehr was behind the wheel of a black sedan traveling eastbound on Linden Boulevard on the night of Thursday, April 24, when he struck 62-year-old Christopher Gayton at the intersection of 166th Street at around 8:45 p.m. and allegedly drove away without reporting the incident. Gayton was then struck again by a 49-year-old driver of a 2024 Ford Edge that was traveling eastbound on Linden Boulevard.
Police from the 113th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian and found Gayton pinned beneath the Ford Edge. The driver remained at the scene and was not arrested.
EMS responded to the scene and rushed Gayton to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead the following day.
Rohlehr was arraigned on three counts of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and failure to exercise due care. He was released on his own recognizance and ordered to return to court on Nov. 25.
