Driver Who Killed Father In Astoria Crash Was Rear-Ended: Letter

ASTORIA, QUEENS — The driver who killed a father-of-two and destroyed an outdoor dining structure in Astoria last month was allegedly rear-ended and lost control of their SUV preceding the accident, according to a letter posted near the site of the fatal car crash on May 5th.

The letter, which was initially posted on a community forum, is signed by private investigator Edward T. McCloskey and claims that the driver, who Streetsblog identified as Maro Yerolemou, was rear-ended by another vehicle at 2369 35th Street, causing her to “lose control and ultimately crash into Rosatoro's” — nearly a third of a mile away.

“This accident is directly related to the accident that occurred at Rosatoro’s,” reads the letter, which goes on to request help from residents who witnessed the accident or have video footage from the block, in order to corroborate the account of the rear-ending.

On Monday, the NYPD, who have not yet identified the car’s driver, told Patch that no arrests have been made in connection to this case, and that “the investigation remains ongoing.” Private investigator McCloskey also did not respond immediately to Patch’s request for comment.

Based on the letter, the driver, who remains unnamed in the account, was rear-ended and failed to gain control of the SUV for nearly two avenues — which include a stop light in between — before crashing into 37-year-old delivery worker Xing Long Lin and the Peruvian restaurant.

The letter’s claims match what Costas Yerolemou, Maro Yerolemou’s ex-husband, told Streetsblog about the accident at the beginning of May.

“She was looking for parking, and all of a sudden she hears ‘boom’ in the back and the car took off. She couldn’t control the car. She didn’t have anything medical,” Yerolemou told the site, suggesting that his ex-wife had been rear-ended prior to killing Lin and crashing into Rosatoro’s. According to his account, his ex-wife also did not suffer a medical episode leading up to the crash, a theory that the police are investigating.

Streetsblog said “there is circumstantial evidence to support the ex-husband’s claim,” since they found the SUV from the accident “sitting in front of the 114th Precinct station house with a detached rear bumper.”

However, the site also posited that “given the force of the collision, the rear bumper may simply have been collateral damage,” especially since many reports of the accident — including the NYPD's — suggest the driver was speeding the night of the crash.

Streetsblog also found four speeding violations and 19 total violations associated with the vehicle's license plate, despite the fact that Yerolemou told the site his ex-wife is "an excellent driver, no points, never speeds, never through stop signs or red lights."