An elderly Sunnyside Gardens man was the driver who died in a horrific multi-vehicle chain-reaction collision in Astoria that killed two pedestrians on Tuesday morning, according to authorities. Andrei Coman, 84, of 48th Street, was identified on Wednesday night by the NYPD as the motorist who was behind the wheel of a 2010 Toyota Corolla that was traveling northbound on 42nd Street at a high-rate of speed, when he ran a stop sign, lost control of his car and crashed into two men standing at a coffee truck near 19th Avenue.
According to law enforcement sources, Coman had suffered a stroke two weeks prior to the fatal collision and had been advised by his physician not to drive, amNY reported Wednesday.
He may have suffered a medical episode when he failed to navigate the roadway at around 8:40 a.m. and slammed into a 70-year-old man and a 42-year-old man who were standing at a f1995 Chevrolet C/K3500 food truck. The Corolla struck the food truck and went into a spin, causing it to crash into a third vehicle, a 2012 Volkswagen Passat, which was parked at the east curb line. Coman then struck a 2025 Volvo XC90, as it exited a driveway and began to travel southbound on 42nd Street, according to a preliminary investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad.
Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria responded to a 911 call of a motor vehicle collision at the location, and they found the two pedestrians near the wreckage of the food truck. The 42-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the NYPD. He was later identified as Joaquin Venancio-Mendez, a father of two from 95th Street in East Elmhurst. He was the manager of Astoria Discount Tire, where he worked with his brother.
EMS rushed the 70-year-old man to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short while later, a police spokesman said. He was later identified as Santiago Baires, of Davenport Avenue in Queens Village, a father of eight with 14 grandchildren.
Coman was extricated from the mangled wreckage of his Corolla and EMS transported him to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Volvo driver was not injured in the collision.
There was nearly a fourth victim. The owner of the food truck, Giancarlo Caruso, said he had just closed for the day and was talking with the two pedestrians next to his vehicle when he heard the screeching tires and stepped out of the way just before the initial impact. He said one of the victims was hit so hard he went through the driver’s side windshield.
“I was behind the cart with two gentlemen, and all of a sudden, we heard loud screeching tires and a loud engine roar. Someone screamed in shock, like ‘oh my god,’ and I just immediately stepped back without even looking, and a millisecond later, the car mauled the gentleman next to me,” Caruso said. “The other gentleman ended up going into the car. I’d seen his brother screaming and trying to pull the door open. So, I just ran over to the door. I broke the door off, and people kept screaming, ‘Call 911!’”
There have been no arrests, and the investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad remains ongoing.
Additional reporting by Shane O’Brien and Dean Moses.
