NEW YORK – Driver who crashed head-on into an Uber vehicle while accelerating On a corner of Long Island during the summer, killing himself and four other people, he reached a top speed of 106 mph just 3.5 seconds before impact, investigators said Friday.
Justin Mendez, a 22-year-old from Brookhaven, was behind the wheel of a Nissan Maxima when it swerved into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with the Uber, a Toyota Prius, on the Montauk Freeway in Quogue Village at the last minute. July 24.
Mendez died in a hospital. Four passengers in his car, two brothers in their 20s, a 32-year-old man from Bay Shore and a 25-year-old man from Manhasset, were killed at the scene. A fifth passenger, a young Garden City woman, was seriously injured.
The Maxima and Prius black box data was recovered by members of the New York State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit as part of their investigation. The Maxima’s box showed Mendez driving 86 mph at the time of the collision, but hit a top speed of 106 mph just seconds earlier.
There was no indication that it slowed down before impact, the investigators said.
The speed of the Prius at the time of the collision was 27 mph. That driver was going approximately 38 mph seconds before the collision, but braked just before the collision. Apparently, no one in the Uber was seriously injured in the accident.
A witness who had been in another car at the time of the terrible accident described the Maxima as a “race car,” according to the report.
“I saw a red car near the old VFW in Quogue on Montauk Highway. I didn’t realize until after my headlights illuminated the vehicle that the red car had no lights on and was completely off. When this vehicle passed me, it appeared as the vehicle was traveling over 100 miles per hour, which sounded like a race car, took my breath away, “the witness said. “Next, I saw a police car with its hazard lights on about 100 yards or 10-15 seconds behind the red car, and the police car made no progress in closing the distance between them.”
The New York State Attorney General’s Office reviewed the findings related to the police vehicle, as is customary in such cases, and found no reason to take any action against the officer who was pursuing the Maxima prior to the accident.
Police say their investigation is ongoing and ask anyone with information to call 63-653-4791.
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