QUEENS, NY – Melissa Rodriguez-Lopez, a 28-year-old resident of Kossuth Avenue in the Bronx, faced indictment charges on Tuesday for murder and manslaughter.
The charges stem from a high-speed car crash that took the life of an Uber passenger, reportedly struck by Rodriguez-Lopez’s vehicle during a drag race on the Whitestone Expressway.
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Rodriguez-Lopez, who describes herself as a street racing enthusiast, was driving a 2015 Lexus at up to 123 miles per hour when she hit an Uber driven by Manishanker Roy, 43.
The Uber was carrying passenger Steven Spaulding, 62, from Brooklyn.
Rodriguez-Lopez reportedly left the scene without reporting the collision, hitching a ride from another drag racer. Later that day, Rodriguez-Lopez reported to the NYPD’s 52nd Police Department that her car had been stolen.
Roy and Spaulding were taken to New York-Presbyterian Queens hospital in Flushing. Roy sustained significant injuries, while Spaulding, after undergoing surgery for several spinal fractures, suffered a stroke and passed away on June 10.
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Rodriguez-Lopez is due back in court on August 29. If convicted, she could face 25 years to life in prison.