Sleeping Driver Charged In Teen's Rockaway Death, Cops Say

QUEENS, NY — A motorist who fell asleep behind the wheel and fatally struck a teen at Rockaway bus stop has been arrested months after the crash, police said.

Daniel Sails, 30, who was arrested Tuesday, faces a reckless driving charge in the death of 19-year-old Ava Conklin, authorities said.

Police said Sails drove June 24 about 2:15 p.m. along Rockaway Beach Boulevard when he fell asleep.

The road gave way to sidewalk, which Sails' 2021 Hyundai Venue jumped onto and crashed into three metal benches at a bus stop near Beach 108th Street where Conklin stood, police said.

Conklin suffered severe trauma to her torso and was rushed to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where doctors pronounced her dead, NYPD officials said.

Sails, then 29, was taken into custody and released after the crash, police said.