A drunk driver killed a 21-year-old Bronx resident on the New England Thruway last week.
According to the NYPD, officers from the 45th Precinct responded to a 911 call of a car accident on the northbound New England Thruway at Exit 12 (Baychester Avenue), on May 6 around 4 a.m. Once at the scene, they saw a 2011 BMW 328 on fire at the exit ramp and a second car, a 2017 Toyota Camry (Lyft vehicle), flipped over with a 53-year-old male driver and Shakir Simpson, 22, rear-seat passenger, inside. Additionally, a third vehicle, a 2021 Dodge Durango, was found near the shoulder/median area to the exit ramp, with its driver, John Cetoute, 27, inside.
EMS transported the operator and passenger of the Toyota to Jacobi Hospital, where the driver remains in stable condition and Simpson was pronounced deceased. Cetoute, of Grenada Place, was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and driving while his ability was impaired by alcohol.
The initial investigation revealed that the BMW was traveling north bound on the highway when Cetoute allegedly was driving erratically, causing his car to hit the median and become engulfed in flames along the exit ramp area.
The Camry, also traveling north bound, in an attempt to avoid crashing into the beamer, hit the Durango, which was also traveling north bound on the Thruway. This caused the Camry to flip over.
Cetoute remained at the scene and the investigation remains ongoing.
