A Bayside man was sentenced to eight years in prison on Aug. 14 for attempted assault and other crimes for driving his minivan on the Clearview Expressway, ramming multiple vehicles and injuring two motorists in separate collisions in 2023.
Joseph Lee, 30, of 211th Street in Bayside, was convicted by a jury in June of attempted assault in the first degree, two counts of assault in the second degree, and reckless driving. The jury deliberated for about three hours before reaching a guilty verdict on June 18.
According to the charges and trial testimony, on Jan. 18, 2023, at approximately 9:19 a.m., Lee entered the Clearview Expressway and drove northbound in the southbound lanes. While driving, he intentionally directed his minivan into oncoming vehicles, which swerved to avoid him. Lee struck five cars, causing serious physical injuries to two motorists. When officers arrived at the scene, they saw Lee running down the highway. He then entered one of the victim’s vehicles and said to the victim, “You want to fight?”
Lee, who at the time of his arrest appeared to be under the influence of drugs, was taken to an area hospital. He later admitted he consumed Dimethyltryptamine DMT, a hallucinogen, approximately 30 to 60 minutes before driving onto the expressway. Lee further told police that he entered the Clearview Expressway in the wrong direction because he wanted to hurt people and that he felt “liberated” by what he had done.
“Joseph Lee terrorized other drivers as he purposefully drove the wrong way on a busy Queens highway and crashed into multiple cars,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “Two motorists were badly hurt and still have not fully recovered.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis sentenced Lee to eight years in prison for attempted assault in the first degree, six years on each count of assault in the second degree, and 364 days for reckless driving, with all sentences to run concurrently to one another.
“Thanks to the strong case prosecuted by my Vehicular Homicide Unit, the defendant was convicted by a jury and will now go to prison,” Katz said.
