New York Daily News

‘Reckless’ teen driver charged in deaths of 3

- BY JOHN ANNESE

A young driver who killed two teenagers and an 11-year-old boy in a gruesome 2020 crash at Floyd Bennett Field now faces criminally negligent homicide charges, police said Wednesday.

Tamirlan Abylkhnov was 16 years old on July 11, 2020, when he and a group of friends went to the Brooklyn airfield to do “doughnuts” near the North 40 Runway, according to cops.

He was driving a Toyota Camry, with two passengers, was speeding at 70 mph when he T-boned a 2020 Kia Forte. The Kia’s driver, Emil Badalov, 16, and his two passengers — his high school sweetheart, Margarita

Sidgiyayev­a, 18, and Daniel Sidgiyayev­a, 11, died in the wreck.

Abylkhnov, now 18, was indicted in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Tuesday and charged with three counts of criminally negligent homicide, and one count each of assault, unlicensed operator, excessive speed, reckless endangerme­nt and reckless driving.

“Three young lives were tragically cut short when this defendant allegedly T-boned the victims’ car as he attempted to do stunts at a high speed,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Wednesday. “This case highlights the incredible dangers of drag racing, and this kind of recklessne­ss cannot be tolerated in Brooklyn. Our prosecutor­s will seek to hold them accountabl­e, and my heart continues to be with the families of the victims as they grieve.”

Abylkhnov, who lives in Homecrest, about 3½ miles from Floyd Bennett Field, was arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday and released on his own recognizan­ce. He could face up to four years behind bars, prosecutor­s said.

Floyd Bennett Field, which is part of the federal Gateway National Recreation area, had recently reopened to visitors about a month before the crash, after a COVID-imposed lockdown.

Opened in 1931, it was the city’s first municipal airport, and was sold to the Navy a decade later. Many of the field’s runways have since been converted into roads.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States