Russian-speaking driver without a license made a terrible accident in Brooklyn: 2 people died, 5 injured

On March 20, a Russian-speaking driver without a license caused a terrible accident in Brooklyn, as a result of which two people died and five were hospitalized, reports New York DailyNews.

Vitaly Konoplev has been charged with aggravated driving without a license in connection with an accident on 18th Ave. and 64th St. in Bensonhurst.

Konoplev, 49, was driving south on 18th Ave. in his Toyota Camry, when he ran a red light at 12th St. around 45:64 p.m. and crashed into a black Honda CRV heading east on 64th St. This collision set off a deadly chain reaction.

According to police, Konoplev lives on Coney Island. He was not seriously injured and remained at the scene of the accident until he was taken into custody.

“There was a big impact, like an explosion… It hit a car, then a lamp post and flew out onto the sidewalk,” said Vito Conigliaro, who works at a nearby pizzeria. Another witness said the man was driving at such a high speed that the car was "shaking".

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Police said the 51-year-old Honda CRV driver's car went out of control after the collision and ran into a 60-year-old woman crossing the intersection at the time of the accident.

“She was covered in blood on the ground,” Conigliaro said of the pedestrian. “They tried to revive her, but she didn’t respond.”

After hitting a Honda CRV, Konoplev's Toyota turned right and crashed into a passing Chevy Equinox driven by a 71-year-old man, after which Konoplev's car jumped over the curb, drove onto the sidewalk and crashed into a lamppost.

“There were two passengers in the Toyota,” Conigliaro said. The guy in the back came flying forward and his head smashed through the windshield. It was sticking out of the windshield."

A passerby, Osama Chafik, tried to help the trapped man, who was muttering, "Please help me."

“He was a bloody mess,” Chafik said.

“The guy in the black Honda was dead,” a shocked witness said. “There was another woman inside. They had to open up the car to get her out."

Rumors that someone was breathing in the Honda quickly spread, and Chafik and other bystanders ran to the car and smashed the window.

“We disabled the airbags and pulled the woman out,” Chafik, 32, said. Her eyes rolled back. The male driver did not move. There was no hope."

The 60-year-old pedestrian and the 51-year-old Honda driver were taken to the Maimonides Hospital, where they both died.

Another victim was taken to the same hospital in critical condition. Four more people were taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive, police said.

“Every time a person dies on our streets, the affected families and communities need us for swift justice,” Selven Brooks-Powers, chairman of the City Council Transportation Committee, said on March 20. “Beyond the courtroom, this should also include looking into where street safety infrastructure improvements can help save lives.”

The city's Department of Transportation identified 18th Ave. as a priority corridor to improve street safety, but announced last month that it was removing the corridor from its Vision Zero priority list.

Konoplev was not immediately charged as the police continued to investigate the accident. Police are investigating if he was drunk DailyNews.

“I have never seen anything like this in my life,” Conigliaro said of the accident. “I still think what the hell happened.”