A Philadelphia woman could face up to four years in prison if convicted for the crash that resulted in the death of her cousin.
Makeda McDonald, 28, was charged with criminally negligent homicide, driving in excess of the maximum speed limit, and reckless driving for the tragic collision that occurred in Queens, New York, on April 8, 2022, local District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a press release.
McDonald turned herself in on Tuesday, March 5, and has a court appearance later this month. The charges stem from the incident in which McDonald was allegedly driving at high speed on Cross Island Parkway amid a rainstorm with her 24-year-old cousin Moesha McLaughlin and 32-year-old aunt Nysha Turnbull inside her vehicle.
Officials say McDonald was driving her black Mercedes Benz 123 mph in a 50 mph zone when she reached a “split in the highway with exit ramps…failed to maintain her lane, entered a grass median separating the exit ramps and struck a guardrail, launching the vehicle airborne.”
According to the press release, the impact caused the car to roll over multiple times and hit a light pole and a gantry for an overhead road sign. In a photo posted by the New York Daily News, the roof appears to be completely off the severely damaged vehicle.
McLaughlin, who was sitting in the back, was” pinned” inside the vehicle and had to be removed by first responders. She was taken to the hospital but succumbed to her wounds.
Turnbull was discovered to be upside down in the front seat with her seatbelt on. She had injuries throughout her body, including the pelvis, liver, lung, arm, and shoulder.
“Disregarding the rules of the road often has devastating consequences. A life has been cut short and a family left heartbroken because the defendant, as alleged, drove at two-and-half times the speed limit,” Katz said in a statement. “My office will continue to prioritize cases of vehicular crimes to ensure that dangerous drivers are held accountable.”
McDonald’s mother, Scara McIntosh, told the Daily News that her daughter has been carrying the weight of the crash for nearly two years. McIntosh said she would do everything in her power to keep her daughter from behind bars and accused authorities of “trying to prove a point” and looking for “promotion.”
“They’re not putting my daughter in jail — they’re not,” she said to the newspaper. “They’re demons, those police, detectives, all of them. They will not put my daughter in prison… Not when I am alive.”
