FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Queens Man Sentenced to 3 to 9 Years in Prison for Running Red Light and Crashing into Vehicle, Killing Driver in Crown Heights
Defendant Pleaded Guilty to Manslaughter in May
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Queens man has been sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison following his guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter for speeding and running a series of red lights, ultimately crashing into another vehicle, and killing a man.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This defendant’s reckless decision to speed and disobey traffic lights cost an innocent man his life and endangered many others. He has now been held accountable for his criminal conduct. I remain committed to keeping Brooklyn’s streets safe for all people.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Elijah Lucaine, 25, of Cambria Heights, Queens. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Joanne Quinones to 3 to 9 years in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter on May 15, 2024.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on March 13, 2023, at approximately 4:35 p.m., the defendant was driving a 2015 white Infiniti when he was observed by police going through multiple red lights, traveling at a high rate of speed, and swerving in and out of oncoming traffic.
At approximately 4:45 p.m., at the southwest corner of Crown Street and Nostrand Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the defendant drove through a red light at approximately 70-m.p.h., in a 25-m.p.h. zone, and t-boned a black Acura belonging to David Ellis, 56, who was in the driver’s seat. The victim was trapped in his car and the Emergency Services Unit ultimately had to cut off the door. The driver was taken to Kings County Hospital with a leg fracture, rib fractures, and a lung contusion. He died five days later because of blunt force trauma from the crash.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Danyelle Shapiro, of the District Attorney’s Green Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Nocella, Chief of the Street Safety Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Frank DeGaetano, Chief of the Green Zone Trial Bureau.
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