FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 16, 2021
Driver who Crashed Car on Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
While Allegedly Driving Drunk and Speeding Indicted for Manslaughter
Front Passenger Died of His Injuries, Second Passenger Injured
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn woman has been arraigned on an indictment in which she is charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault. The defendant allegedly lost control of her vehicle while speeding and under the influence of alcohol last January. Her front seat passenger died following the crash and a backseat passenger was injured.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant made a terrible decision to allegedly get behind the wheel of a car after drinking alcohol and traveling at an incredibly high rate of speed. She showed complete disregard for the safety of her passengers and everyone using our roadways. I am committed to keeping our streets and highways safe and will now seek to hold this defendant accountable.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Chelsea Rety, 22, of Copiague, New York. She was arraigned today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew Sciarrino on an indictment in which she is charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She remains out on $75,000 bail and was ordered to return to court on June 2, 2021.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on January 22, 2021 at approximately 12:30 a.m., the defendant was driving a 2016 Toyota Scion east bound on the BQE, with two friends, Saharath Yuvanavattana, 23, in the front passenger seat and a 24-year-old man in the rear passenger seat. As the vehicle approached the Flushing Avenue exit, Exit 30, the defendant allegedly lost control of the vehicle, causing the passenger side to strike a barrier.
Yuvanavattana was taken to Bellevue Hospital and died a short time later. The other passenger was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The defendant suffered a broken arm.
It is alleged, according to the investigation, that the defendant was driving at an excessive rate of speed of approximately 102 miles per hour and had a blood alcohol level of approximately .09, which is over the legal limit of .08.
Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nocella, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Street Safety Bureau, assisted in the prosecution.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Da Rin, of the District Attorney’s Red Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Karla Watson, Bureau Chief.
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