Makeda McDonald, of Philadelphia, indicted in Cross Island Parkway crash that killed her cousin
A Philadelphia woman has been indicted in connection with a 2022 crash on the Cross Island Parkway that killed her cousin and critically injured her aunt, the Queens County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
Makeda McDonald, 28, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, driving in excess of the maximum speed limit and operating a vehicle at an unreasonable speed. Prosecutors said McDonald was driving 123 mph on a rain-soaked roadway at the time of the early morning crash.
McDonald faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Court records show McDonald pleaded not guilty to all charges.
McDonald is due back in court March 20.
Reached via phone Tuesday, Brooklyn-based defense attorney Alexis G. Padilla declined to comment.
Prosecutors said McDonald was southbound in a black 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLA 350 on the Cross Island at about 3:15 a.m. on a rainy April 8, 2022. She approached the split for the ramps to the eastbound Southern State Parkway and westbound Belt Parkway — only to careen through the grass median between the ramps, striking a guardrail and “launching the vehicle airborne.”
Authorities said the Mercedes rolled several times before striking an overhead light pole and the gantry supporting an overhead road sign before coming to rest on its roof.
The backseat passenger, whom prosecutors identified as McDonald’s cousin Moesha McLaughlin, 21, of Rosedale, Queens, was pinned in the Mercedes. Once extracted from the vehicle, authorities said McLaughlin was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
McDonald’s aunt Nyasha Turnbull, 32, also of Rosedale, was in the front passenger seat — and was found upside down, held by her seat belt. Authorities said she suffered arm, shoulder, pelvis, lung and liver injuries.
Court records show a warrant previously issued was vacated after McDonald surrendered at the NYPD’s 105th Precinct on Monday.
Judge Michael Hartofilis set bail at $60,000 cash, $60,000 insured bond or $60,000 partially secured surety bond. It was not immediately clear if McDonald posted bail.
“Disregarding the rules of the road often has devastating consequences,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement, adding: “A life has been cut short and a family left heartbroken because the defendant, as alleged, drove at nearly two-and-half times the speed limit.”
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
