STATEN ISLAND — A woman died Monday night when an intoxicated driver running a red light crashed into her car and sent her careening into another vehicle in Prince's Bay, police said.
Raquel Calleja, 41, was driving her 2007 Toyota 4Runner SUV east on Huguenot Avenue about 11:20 p.m. when she crossed into the intersection with Hylan Boulevard and Jennifer Montano, 26, in her southbound 2000 Ford Explorer SUV, slammed into her, according to the NYPD.
Calleja careened into Hylan Boulevard's northbound lane, where she struck a 2008 Mercedes ML350 SUV driven by a 45-year-old woman who was waiting for the light to change, police said.
Montano spun around after hitting Calleja, striking a fence and finally coming to rest in front of I.S. 7, Elias Bernstein, NYPD officials said.
Calleja, who lived in the neighborhood on Chester Street, was pronounced dead at Staten Island University North Hospital, police said.
Montano, of Eltingville, along with the 37-year-old man she was driving with and the Mercedes' driver, were all taken to the same hospital and listed in stable condition, police said.
Montano was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and driving while ability impaired, NYPD officials said.
She has been arrested three times previously, according to court records.
In June, Montano threw a chair at her mom, ripped the mom's glasses off her face and smashed them, then cracked the windshield of the mother's car with her hand. She was arrested for criminal mischief, according to a criminal complaint.
She was arrested again for attacking a friend's home twice. On July 13, she punch through a glass door on Ridgecrest Avenue about 3 a.m. and on Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. she threw a paving stone through the door again, shattering the glass and injuring the woman, records show.
She pleaded guilty and was released, though an order of protection was issued in that case, records show.
In September, she pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct charges after violating that order by showing up to her friend's home again, according to court records. She was ordered to undergo mental health counseling.
Information about Montano's lawyer was not immediately available.
