A speeding Staten Island BMW driver crashed into a pole and fire hydrant — and then removed his mangled car’s license plates before running off and leaving his backseat passenger to die, police said Tuesday.
The heartless driver lost control near Goethals Road North and Jules Drive, right off the Staten Island Expressway in Graniteville, about 10:15 p.m. Monday, cops said.
He veered onto the sidewalk and slammed into a light pole and fire hydrant before spinning out of control back into the street.
Backseat passenger Usman Chughtai was thrown from the car and landed on the asphalt, cops said. A 23-year-old man sitting in the front passenger seat also suffered injuries.
The aftermath of a car crash in Graniteville that left one man dead and police searching for the driver of the vehicle. Police say the driver fled on foot. Story ➡️ https://t.co/81SAY5cMdt 📷 Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel pic.twitter.com/xYBy8SRVoy
— SIAdvance (@siadvance) March 12, 2024
When the car finally came to a stop, the driver got out of the mangled wreck and in apparent attempt to evade responsibility took the plates off the car and ran off with them, cops said.
Chughtai, 26, died at the scene. He lived about a mile from where the crash occurred.
The front-seat passenger was taken to Richmond University Medical Center in stable condition.
Cops were looking for the driver Tuesday.
