Queens speed demon gets 3 to 9 for deadly Crown Heights crash
Lucaine's car T-boned a black Acura driven by David Ellis. The impact trapped Ellis in his vehicle, which required the Emergency Services Unit to cut off the car door to free him. Photo: Panumas/Adobe Stock
A Queens man is heading to prison for three to nine years after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter on Tuesday for a reckless driving spree that ended in a fatal crash in Crown Heights.
District Attorney Eric Gonzalez slammed the reckless behavior of Elijah Lucaine, 25, of Cambria Heights, Queens, in a statement.
“This defendant’s reckless decision to speed and disobey traffic lights cost an innocent man his life and endangered many others,” Gonzalez said. “He has now been held accountable for his criminal conduct. I remain committed to keeping Brooklyn’s streets safe for all people.”
The deadly incident occurred on March 13, 2023. Lucaine, behind the wheel of a 2015 white Infiniti, was spotted by police tearing through multiple red lights, swerving in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed. His joyride turned deadly around 4:45 p.m. when he barreled through a red light at Crown Street and Nostrand Avenue at a staggering 70 mph in a 25-mph zone.
Lucaine’s car T-boned a black Acura driven by David Ellis, 56. The impact trapped Ellis in his vehicle, which required the Emergency Services Unit to cut off the car door to free him. Despite being rushed to Kings County Hospital with severe injuries, including a leg fracture, rib fractures and a lung contusion, Ellis succumbed to blunt force trauma five days later.
Justice Joanne Quinones handed down Lucaine’s sentence in Brooklyn’s Supreme Court. The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Danyelle Shapiro under the supervision of ADA Jennifer Nocella, Chief of the Street Safety Bureau, and ADA Frank DeGaetano, Chief of the Green Zone Trial Bureau.
