Woodside taxi driver charged in fatal collision that killed Astoria delivery man in LIC last November: DA

May 21, 2024 By Bill Parry

A Woodside man has been indicted by a Queens grand jury for allegedly driving the wrong way on Northern Boulevard and striking and killing an Astoria delivery man who was riding a scooter in a head-on collision last November.

Mohammad Bhuiyan, 48, was arraigned Tuesday in Queens Supreme Court on one count of involuntary manslaughter and other crimes in the fatal collision that killed 59-year-old Antonios Spyropoulos of 29th Street while he was making deliveries for DoorDash executed.

According to allegations in the indictment, on the night of November 27, 2023, Bhuiyan was behind the wheel of a yellow 2023 Toyota Rav4 taxi cab that had just left the 59th Street Bridge at 11:51 p.m. and was traveling eastbound on Northern Boulevard was when he veered into the westbound lane for about 300 feet before speeding into Spyropoulos on a 2020 Yamaha XMAX scooter.

The victim was driving a registered and insured vehicle while making DoorDash deliveries. Spyropoulos suffered severe trauma to his body and was taken by EMS to Elmhurst Hospital where he was treated. He succumbed to his injuries a few days later and died on December 1, 2023.

Following an investigation by the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad and the Queens District Attorney’s Vehicular Homicide Bureau, Bhuiyan was indicted by a grand jury. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued and Bhuiyan was arrested by the NYPD’s Queens Warrants Squad on Tuesday morning.

“It is the moral obligation of every driver to ensure the safety of those we encounter on our shared roads,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “The victim was driving to make a grocery delivery when the defendant allegedly drove on the wrong side of the road, striking the victim head-on and causing multiple injuries, resulting in his death.”

Bhuiyan was also criminally charged with reckless driving and failure to pass safety markings. He was arraigned before Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis, who ordered him to return to court on June 20. If convicted, Bhuiyan faces a maximum of one and a half to four years in prison.

“A vehicle can cause drastic damage and my office will continue to ensure that drivers who break the law are held accountable in this county,” Katz said. “My thoughts at this moment are with the victim’s relatives.”

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