Anthony Dickson, 34, faces vehicular manslaughter charges after a single-car crash on a Queens highway killed a recent college graduate and injured three other passengers.
The gray Honda Accord flipped on the Grand Central Parkway near the Steinway overpass just after 4 a.m. Sunday, police said. Dickson, behind the wheel, lost control and the left rear wheel struck the curb divider, sending the vehicle skidding sideways before it overturned and knocked over a light pole.
Arianna Arregui, 23, who had graduated from Brooklyn College this year with a bachelor’s degree in biology, was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital Center. She had been sitting in the center back seat and suffered severe head and body trauma, authorities said.
“That’s my daughter,” her father, Johnny Arregui, told the New York Daily News. “I can’t believe my daughter flew out the window.”
“There was five people in the car,” he added. “She was in the backseat in the middle.”
The driver and three other women in the vehicle — ages 23, 24 and 32 — escaped with either no injuries or minor ones, police said. All five occupants were from Brooklyn and had been returning from a friend’s birthday party, according to one surviving passenger who identified herself as Dickson’s cousin.
“Arianna was like family to us,” the cousin told the News. “The whole car was family. It’s just unfortunate.”
“She’s been in my life my whole entire life,” the cousin continued. “It’s a tremendous loss for everyone … She just graduated college. She just got a haircut.”
Dickson was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while ability impaired. Police could not confirm whether alcohol or drugs were involved in the impairment.
Dickson’s arraignment was pending Monday.