A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty to a fatal collision — while fleeing police — that killed a health care professional last year, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday.
Juan Lopez, 33, of Cypress Hills, faces four-to-12 years in prison on charges of manslaughter, unlawful fleeing of a police officer in a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident without reporting, Gonzalez said.
On May 26, 2024, Lopez blew past a red light after cops tried to pull him over in his black 2018 Mercedes-Benz sedan for speeding — hitting around 75 mph on Gates and Wilson Aves. in Bushwick — around 5:25 a.m. Then heading west on Gates Ave., Lopez crashed head-on into a 2005 Honda Pilot, whose driver had the green light and was going south on Central Ave. when they both got to the intersection at Gates Ave, cops said.
“This defendant’s reckless and criminal actions cost an innocent woman her life, devastating her family and loved ones,” Gonzalez said. “By fleeing police at high speed through dense city streets, he showed a complete disregard for the safety of others. With his guilty plea, he has accepted responsibility for the irreversible harm he caused, and he will be held accountable.”
Micah Dukes, 29, was riding in the back seat of the Pilot and was ejected from the car in the collision. She suffered skull and facial fractures, brain bleeding, a punctured lung, internal bleeding, liver damage and body trauma in the crash, according to prosecutors. Medics rushed her to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she was in a coma in critical condition, according to police. She was then transferred to NYU Langone Medical Center, where she died on June 8, 2024.
A 34-year-old woman driving the Pilot was not hurt, nor were two other passengers: a 31-year-old woman in the front passenger seat and a 30-year-old man riding in the back.
Dukes lived in Albany, according to cops, and graduated from Hudson Valley Community College in May 2023 with a degree in community health, according to the upstate Troy school.
“I knew that I wanted to work to help people,” Dukes said in a promotional video posted to YouTube by the college. “I wanted to work with marginalized communities — low income, people of color, mental health, women seeking asylum — so I knew I wanted to help people, and I think this is a good start in terms of my career.”
After striking the Pilot, Lopez lost control of his Mercedes and jumped the sidewalk, attempting to flee the scene on foot. Officers soon caught up to him and arrested him, officials said. Lopez admitted to officers that he consumed alcohol prior to getting behind the wheel, prosecutors said.
The Mercedes Lopez was driving, according to public records, racked up nine violations in 2024 between April 17 and May 10 — seven for speeding in a school zone, two for running a red light and one for a bus lane infraction. Records don’t indicate who was behind the wheel during those incidents.
Lopez is expected to be sentenced this September.
The fatal collision was not the first time Lopez tried to flee police behind the wheel, police said. On Oct. 1, 2023, he was arrested for reckless endangerment and reckless driving after he sped away from cops on a Suzuki motorcycle.
Officers had tried to pull Lopez over near Farmers Blvd. and Dunkirk Drive in St. Albans, Queens, because the motorcycle didn’t have a license plate, Queens prosecutors said. Though cops had their lights and sirens going, Lopez didn’t stop, speeding north on Farmers Blvd., according to court documents. He was going 45 mph in a 25 mph zone and failed to stop at several red lights before cops fstopped him at 104th Ave.
“Other drivers had to swerve to avoid being hit by [Lopez], and there were several pedestrians in the crosswalks as [he] drove through,” prosecutors noted at the time.
It was Lopez’s first arrest in New York City, prosecutors said. On Jan. 24, 2024, a Queens Criminal Court judge allowed him to plead guilty to disorderly conduct and he was released with no additional jail time.
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