2 dead, 7 injured in 4-car crash in Queens

A horrific four-vehicle crash on the Grand Central Parkway in Queens killed a teen and a man early Sunday and left seven others with injuries, police said.
At least one car flipped and another rolled onto its side in the 6:30 a.m. accident caused by a drunken driver, near 188th St. in Jamaica Estates, police said.

Cops arrested Andrew Shakespeare, 33, of New Jersey. Shakespeare caused the fatal crash when he tried to speed past another car in his westbound 2014 BMW SUV and lost control, according to authorities.
Shakespeare’s SUV flew across three lanes, smashed into the guardrail and rolled over into the eastbound lanes, cops said.
Shakespeare was charged with manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
Akeam Grant, 16, died at the scene after he was thrown from the backseat, police said. The front-seat passenger, 34-year-old Layon Campbell, died at Elmhurst Hospital Center two hours later.
The seven people who were hurt went to nearby hospitals with minor injuries, cops said.
Twelve hours earlier in Staten Island, cops arrested the driver of a white Hyundai who hit a woman and 4-year-old twins as they crossed a street, police said.
Elizabeth Johnson, 56, hit the 25-year-old woman and the kids, a boy and a girl, at Vanderbilt Ave. and Osgood Ave. in Fox Hills just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday, cops said. EMS workers took the victims to Staten Island University Hospital in stable condition. The little girl suffered a head injury and the boy and the woman had cuts on their faces and legs, cops said.
The victims have the same last name, but their exact relationship could not be determined.
Johnson, who lives in Staten Island, was charged with failure to yield to pedestrians and failure to exercise due care.
There have been 14 motorist fatalities this year through Thursday, a 41% drop from last year when there were 24 for the same period, according to police statistics. There also have been 51 pedestrian fatalities, which represents a 27% decrease from last year's 70.
Overall, a total of 102 people have died in collisions this year through Thursday, including motorcyclists, bicyclists and passengers. That figure represents an 18% decrease from the same period last year, when 125 people died in accidents.