Driver charged with vehicular manslaughter after fatal BQE collision.
Driver Destiny Mendez fatally struck 37-year-old Chasna Thelemaque on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, police told the Daily News, in a collision officially recorded at 2:25 a.m. on November 8, 2026, with one person killed.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Police said Destiny Mendez, driving a Hyundai Elantra, fatally struck Chasna Thelemaque after she fell from a Toyota RAV4 on the BQE. The official record counts one death in the November 8, 2026 collision. Mendez pleaded not guilty, the Daily News reported.
A passenger fell onto the expressway.
Thelemaque was riding in the rear of a westbound Toyota RAV4 near Exit 28 and the Brooklyn Bridge when she opened a door and fell onto the roadway, police told the Daily News. Police said Mendez, driving a Hyundai Elantra in the same direction, then struck her. Thelemaque died at the scene, the newspaper reported.
The Daily News later identified the RAV4 trip as an Uber ride home from a friend's birthday party. Her friend Arceline Blanks was seated beside her. The reason Thelemaque opened the door remained unresolved.
A property manager remembered for her optimism.
Thelemaque, 37, lived in Kensington and worked as a property manager, according to the Daily News. She and Blanks grew up in the same building in Midwood and remained close, sharing trips, meals and confidences.
Blanks remembered her friend's hopes of traveling and having a family. "The world is negative and she's the positive ray of sunshine," she told the Daily News.
Mendez pleaded not guilty.
Police arrested Mendez, 29, on charges of vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, DWI and driving while ability impaired, the Daily News reported. The newspaper reported that the criminal complaint gave her blood alcohol level as .072.
Mendez pleaded not guilty and was released without bail at her Monday night arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court, according to the November 10 report. Both drivers remained at the scene; the 33-year-old Uber driver faced no immediate charges.
Where
BROOKLYN QUEENS EXPRESSWAY