Driver indicted after fatal Northern Boulevard pedestrian crash
Prosecutors said Salvatore Sassone was impaired and speeding when he hit and killed 74-year-old Eric Wexler on Northern Boulevard.
What We Know
Eric Wexler, 74, was crossing at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street in Queens at about 10:04 p.m. on June 11, 2025, when a driver in a 2017 Chevy Tahoe headed east hit him. City records list one pedestrian killed and no other reported injuries. Police said the driver remained at the scene and no charges were filed immediately. Months later, prosecutors said Salvatore Sassone had been speeding on Northern Boulevard while impaired by alcohol, and he was charged with criminally negligent homicide and other offenses.
A nighttime crossing ended in a fatal impact
The crash happened around 10:04 p.m. on June 11, 2025, at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street. City records say a driver in an eastbound SUV was going straight ahead when the crash occurred, and a 74-year-old male pedestrian was killed.
Police identified the pedestrian as Eric Wexler. News reports said he suffered head and body trauma and was taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, where he was pronounced dead.
Northern Boulevard has a long crash record
The fatal crash occurred at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street in Queens. CrashCountNYC location data for Northern Boulevard in Queens shows 3,399 crashes, 2,139 injuries, 137 serious injuries and 11 deaths since 2022.
Police and prosecutors later named the driver
Patch and the Daily News initially described the driver as a 47-year-old man in a 2017 Chevy Tahoe who remained at the scene. The city crash record lists the driver as unlicensed.
Months later, amNewYork reported that prosecutors identified the driver as Salvatore Sassone, 48, of Westbury, and said he had been behind the wheel of the Tahoe when Wexler was hit.
The later indictment alleged alcohol impairment and speeding
Police said soon after the crash that no charges had been filed. In December, amNewYork reported that a Queens grand jury indicted Sassone and that prosecutors accused him of speeding while impaired by alcohol when he hit Wexler.
Reports differed on the neighborhood description
The official crash record places the crash at Northern Boulevard and 217th Street in Queens. The Daily News described the location as Cambria Heights, while amNewYork described it as Bayside.