Fatal Astoria Crash Not Caused By Medical Episode, Report Says

ASTORIA, QUEENS — A driver who killed a father-of-two in Astoria last Thursday did not suffer a medical episode leading up to the crash, reported Streetsblog.

When the site spoke to Costas Yerolemou, he identified his ex-wife, Maro Yerolemou, as the woman who crashed her SUV into an outdoor dining structure last week, killing 37-year-old delivery worker Xing Long Lin in the process.

Responding to claims that police are investigating if a “medical episode” caused his ex-wife to crash while driving, he told Streetsblog, “no she never had a medical condition…no it’s all lies,” adding that “she cries everyday for the situation.”

On Wednesday, the NYPD, who have not yet identified the car’s driver, told Patch that there are no updates about this case and “the investigation remains ongoing.”

In his interview with Streetsblog, Yerolemou came to his ex-wife’s defense, saying that she was rear-ended by another driver and lost control of the car.

He also said she is “an excellent driver, no points, never speeds, never through stop signs or red lights,” despite the fact that many reports – including the NYPD's – suggest she was speeding the night of the crash.

Witnesses who saw last week’s car crash told reporters that she was going “well over 50 miles-per-hour,” and the NYPD’s initial report cited that the driver was moving “at an apparent high rate of speed” leading up to the crash.

Streetsblog also found four speeding violations and 19 total violations associated with the vehicle’s license plate.

In the days following the crash, many pedestrian advocates have criticized the city for failing to build safe infrastructure that protects pedestrians and bikers from reckless driving.

Danny Harris, Executive Director of the bike and pedestrian advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, said that Mayor Bill de Blasio has failed to add “life-saving protections to our streetscapes” to protect people on the street from cars, especially on Open Streets.

“Unless Mayor de Blasio permanently redesigns streets for safety, drivers will continue to kill more New Yorkers whether they are crossing the street, riding a bike, or dining outdoors,” Harris said in a statement.

Queens State Assemblymember Zohran K. Mamdani who set up the GoFundMe to support Lin’s family that raised over ten times its initial goal, described the money raised as “incredible” in a statement to Patch but added that “to fully honor his life we must work to prevent deaths such as his.”

Assemblymember Mamdani, who has been a longtime advocate for pedestrian and bike safety in his district of Astoria and Long Island City, pointed out that Lin’s death is not the first instance when a person was killed by reckless driving in Astoria, citing the 2018 death of Xellea Samonte, and the death of Alfredo Cabrera Licona who was killed by a reckless truck driver in the Crescent Street bike lane just last November.

“It is clear that paint will not save people, only proper protection will. Our bike lanes must be protected with concrete infrastructure to prevent cars from entering them. Without this, more of our neighbors will die,” he wrote.