BENSONHURST, Brooklyn (PIX11) — One of the drivers involved in a horrific Bensonhurst car crash that left two people dead and several more injured has been criminally charged, police said early Tuesday.
Vitaliy Konoplyov, 49, is charged with manslaughter and aggravated unlicensed operator in connection to the deadly Monday crash, according to authorities.
Konoplyov was allegedly behind the wheel of a 2015 Toyota Camry that collided with a 2016 Honda HRV at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 64th Street around 12:45 p.m., officials said. Wild surveillance footage obtained from the scene shows the white sedan slamming into the side of the SUV, then spinning onto the sidewalk as debris flies through the air.
The impact sent both vehicles into a 60-year-old woman walking near the scene, police said. The Toyota then continued into a third vehicle, a 2021 Chevy Equinox that was also heading along 18th Avenue, authorities said.
The 51-year-old man behind the wheel of the Honda, as well as the 60-year-old pedestrian, were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Their identities had not been released as of Tuesday morning.
Another five people were hospitalized. A 49-year-old woman who was riding in the Honda was listed in critical condition, police said. The remaining four people were listed in what authorities describe as stable condition. They include Konoplyov, two men who were passengers in his car, and the 71-year-old woman who was driving the Chevy.
Police previously alleged Monday that Konoplyov, of Coney Island, blew a red light. Public court records did not list details of his case as of early Tuesday.