Crash vic often gave rides
Friend mourns ‘sweetheart’ who was aiding other pal when DWI driver killed both
A longtime friend of a Queens man killed by an accused drunken driver blasted the callous suspect Wednesday for his deadly decision to climb behind the wheel.
“I just don’t understand,” said a devastated Carolyn Dixon, who first met victim Inderdeo John four decades ago. “You’re no different than a shooter . ... [John] was just a sweetheart. He just had a big heart.”
Dixon, 64, remembered her friend as a particularly careful motorist during all the years he drove her around. In 2014 Dixon had just founded a nonprofit focused on gun violence after the murder of her son when John came back into her life on a regular basis.
She first met John, also 64, when she was in her early 20s.
She was frantic to get from South Jamaica to the hospital for a family emergency when John, a complete stranger, offered his help.
“He was like, ‘What is the matter?’ And I said, ‘I need a ride!’ “she recalled. “He said, ‘Where do you have to go?’ And he took me! And from there we established this bond.”
In 2014, Dixon’s son was shot to death over a parking space in Queens, with his mom grabbing the victim’s gun and firing at the fleeing killer.
Dixon has suffered from PTSD since the deadly clash, leaving her unable to drive and leading to her almost-daily reliance on John.
Her son’s death led to her founding the nonprofit Where Do We Go From Here and counseling other families in sudden grief — with John making sure she got wherever she needed to go.
“If I had to go to a funeral or when I was running late, he’d be like, ‘Carol, I’m driving. I’m going to take my time. We’re going to reach there safely,’ ” said Dixon. “Anytime I needed to go somewhere, I trusted him. And he was a reliable driver.”
In 2021, Dixon was honored by the Queens district attorney for her leadership on gun violence issues.
John was helping out another friend in need when he was killed. Neighbor Charles Harris’ vehicle was in the shop, so John had been driving him around in recent days.
John was taking Harris to his job as a custodial engineer in Brooklyn when Tamir Khan’s Audi A4 plowed into the side of John’s Toyota Camry at 4:20 a.m. on Monday, authorities said. The two victims were just half a mile from their homes when they were struck near 117th St. and 111th Ave. in South Ozone Park.
The crash sent the victims’ sedan spinning uncontrollably into a wooden pole, while Khan’s Audi continued on to strike an additional two parked cars, according to cops.
John was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, but he could not be saved. His friend died there the next day.
“He’s a good guy,” John’s neighbor Perry Mahabar, 58, said. “He does anything you ask him. Everyone knows him on the block, even the young kids. He will be missed.”
A criminal complaint said the 22-year-old defendant, with bloodshot eyes and liquor on his breath, admitted to running a stop sign before the fatal two-car crash.
“I blew the stop sign, and I think I killed the man,” said Khan, according to court documents. A Breathalyzer test showed his blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit two full hours after the deadly crash.
In a social media post, Dixon wrote about the accused killer, “You are a MURDERER in my book!!!”
Khan, taken into custody at the scene of the crash, was freed Tuesday on $75,000 bail posted by relatives after his arrest on charges of vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and drunken driving.
“How can you get behind the wheel when you’re drunk?” asked Dixon. “We considered John as family. I’m hurt. I’m supposed to be in my office today. I just don’t feel like going to work.”
Khan was just three blocks from home when he crashed and is due back in Queens Criminal Court on Friday.
Dixon is still reeling from the loss of her trusted driver and friend.
“We’ve known him for a long time,” said Dixon, adding that her kids were taking the killing hard. “It seems like the great ones are the ones that are taken.”