Hit-and-run driver kills moped rider on 149th Ave in Queens
Police said a wrong-way hit-and-run driver fatally hit moped rider Antonio Smith-Ortiz at 149th Avenue and 121st Street in Queens, where the city crash record recorded one death at 10:04 p.m. on June 10.
What We Know
The city crash record places the crash at 149th Avenue and 121st Street in Queens at 10:04 p.m. on June 10, 2025, with one motorist killed and no injuries recorded. Police told the Daily News that Antonio Smith-Ortiz, 25, was riding a gas-powered 2015 Honda PCX 150 moped east on 149th Avenue when a driver going against traffic in the eastbound lane hit him near 121st Street. Police said that driver then hit an unoccupied parked 2015 Ford Transit 350 Courier van and left the scene. Medics took Smith-Ortiz to Jamaica Hospital, where he died. The official record lists improper passing or lane use as a contributing factor.
Police described a wrong-way hit-and-run
Police told the Daily News that Antonio Smith-Ortiz was riding east on 149th Avenue when a driver traveling the opposite direction in the eastbound lane hit him near 121st Street. The city crash record lists the time as 10:04 p.m.; the police account cited by the Daily News placed it at about 10:05 p.m.
Police said the driver then hit an unoccupied parked 2015 Ford Transit 350 Courier van and left. The city record lists one death and no injuries.
149th Avenue at 121st Street
The crash happened at 149th Avenue and 121st Street in Queens, a South Ozone Park location identified by police in the Daily News account and by the city crash record.
On 121st Street in Queens, CrashCountNYC's Crash Finder counted 231 crashes, 137 injuries, eight serious injuries and two deaths from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
Antonio Smith-Ortiz died after the crash
The official person record lists the person killed as a 25-year-old male driver and occupant. Police identified him to the Daily News as Antonio Smith-Ortiz, 25, of Ozone Park.
Medics took Smith-Ortiz to Jamaica Hospital, where he died. His family declined to comment to the Daily News.
Records differ on some vehicle descriptions
Police described Smith-Ortiz as riding a gas-powered 2015 Honda PCX 150 moped. City vehicle records include a 2015 Honda entry described in one record as a motorcycle and in a later record as a moped; both list the rider traveling east and going straight before the crash.
Police told the Daily News that the fleeing driver hit an unoccupied parked 2015 Ford Transit 350 Courier van after hitting Smith-Ortiz. The city vehicle record lists a parked 2015 Ford as a station wagon or sport utility vehicle.
Improper lane use was recorded as a factor
The city crash record lists passing or improper lane use as a contributing factor. That aligns with the police account reported by the Daily News, which said the driver was going against traffic in the eastbound lane before hitting Smith-Ortiz.
Police were still seeking the driver
As of the Daily News report on June 11, police said the driver had not been caught and investigators had not developed a vehicle description.