Driver Who Let Passenger Burn Alive On BQE Sentenced To Jail: DA

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — The drunk driver who left his friend to die after crashing his car on the BQE will spend up to 12 years in state prison, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Saeed Ahmad, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter for the fiery crash in October 2017, where his friend 25-year-old Harleen Grewal died.

Ahmad had been driving back to Brooklyn from a night out in Manhattan when, around 4 a.m., he crashed his car into a side barrier between the Hamilton Avenue and Prospect Expressway exits on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

The car exploded and burst into flames, but Ahmad managed to get out. He then hailed a cab and left the scene without calling 911 or alerting anyone that his friend was still in the car.

“This defendant’s senseless and reckless actions caused the death of a young woman who had her entire life ahead of her," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "He showed complete disregard for human life and for the safety of everyone using our roadways. Hopefully, the victim’s heartbroken family will find some solace with today’s sentencing.”

Ahmad, of Marine Park, had been speeding and trying to pass other cars at the time of the crash, prosecutors said. He was arrested later that morning and tests determined that his blood alcohol level at the time of the crash was above the legal limit of .08.

He was sentenced Wednesday to four to 12 years in state prison.

Image via Joshua Longmore, Twitter, used with permission.