Driver charged in Astoria scooter rider's death
A city crash record logged one death at Crescent Street and 30th Drive on Jan. 4, and prosecutors accused Ryan Rampersaud of drunk driving, failing to yield and hitting Blanca Arias-Miranda as she rode a standup scooter in the bike lane.
What We Know
At about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 4, 2026, a crash at Crescent Street and 30th Drive in Queens left a 54-year-old woman dead. City records list alcohol involvement and describe a sedan making a left turn and a northbound stand-up scooter going straight. Prosecutors later accused Ryan Rampersaud of driving a 2009 Honda Civic while intoxicated, failing to yield at 30th Drive and hitting the scooter rider in a designated bike lane. Press accounts identified the woman as Blanca Arias and Blanca Arias-Miranda, said she was a mother of four, and reported that she died after being placed on life support at Elmhurst Hospital.
A left turn at 30th Drive
Prosecutors said Ryan Rampersaud was driving a 2009 Honda Civic south on Crescent Street at about 1:40 a.m. when he made a left turn at 30th Drive, failed to yield to oncoming traffic and hit a woman riding a standup electric scooter in a designated bike lane. The city crash record lists the crash time as 1:45 a.m. and records a sedan making a left turn and a northbound stand-up scooter going straight.
The Daily News reported that the scooter rider was thrown off and suffered a massive brain injury. QNS reported that passing pedestrians called 911, police from the 114th Precinct found her on the roadway with severe head trauma, and EMS took her to Elmhurst Hospital.
Crescent Street had a record of serious crashes
The crash was recorded at Crescent Street and 30th Drive in Astoria, Queens.
CrashCountNYC's Crash Finder counted 363 crashes, 210 injuries, 11 serious injuries and 2 deaths on Crescent Street in Queens from Jan. 1, 2022, through June 1, 2026.
The woman who died was near home
The city record describes the person killed as a 54-year-old female driver of the stand-up scooter. Press accounts identified her as Blanca Arias in the Daily News and Blanca Arias-Miranda in QNS.
The Daily News, citing family, reported that she was a Queens mother of four heading home and only a few blocks from her house when the driver hit her. A GoFundMe post quoted by the Daily News said the family learned after days in the ICU that their mother had died.
Alcohol allegations led to felony charges
The city crash record lists alcohol involvement as a contributing factor, and the sedan's vehicle record also lists driver inattention or distraction.
QNS reported that Rampersaud was indicted on charges of vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence. Prosecutors alleged that he showed signs of intoxication, refused a breathalyzer and later had a court-ordered blood test showing a blood alcohol level of 0.12 percent.
Hospital care and community support followed
The Daily News reported that the scooter rider was placed on life support at Elmhurst Hospital Center and died of her injuries two days after the crash. QNS reported that she succumbed to her injuries after severe brain trauma.
The Daily News reported that a GoFundMe launched to help with doctors' bills and funeral expenses had raised more than $40,000 within 24 hours.