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Driver in Fatal Drag Race Crash Was Drunk and High, Prosecutors Say

By Nicholas Rizzi | October 25, 2016 12:07pm

ARDEN HEIGHTS — A driver who was drag racing when his car collided with another on a Staten Island highway, killing his passenger, was drunk and high on opiates at the time, prosecutors said.

Jermaine Simmons, 38, of Sheepshead Bay, had a suspended license, had been drinking alcohol and had taken drugs before he got behind the wheel of a 2010 Dodge Charger and crashed into a 2005 Honda SUV driven by Hernan Zhagui, 49, on the West Shore Expressway Sunday, prosecutors said.

Zhagui and Simmons did not know each before they started racing, the source said.

Simmons had spent the night with Dennis White, 39, of Crown Heights, and two others at Roller Jam USA in Tottenville before he got behind the wheel and drove on the West Shore Expressway, the source said.

He crashed into the rear of Zhagui's Honda near the Arden Avenue exit at about 2:15 a.m., sending the Honda careening into a 2013 Ford van, police said.

The Honda then crashed into a guardrail in the center median.

Simmons' car hit a light and overturned onto a grassy embankment on the side of the highway, police said.

When emergency workers arrived they found White, who was in the passenger seat of the Dodge, unconscious with trauma to the head and body. He was taken to Richmond University Medical Center where he died, police said.

Simmons and his two other passengers were taken to the same hospital in stable condition.

Zhagui and another two passengers were also taken to Richmond University Medical Center in stable condition, police said. The driver of the Ford van was uninjured.

Simmons was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and driving while his ability was impaired at his Wednesday arraignment, and his bail was set at $50,000, the Staten Island District Attorney's office said.

Simmons has been convicted three times before for grand larceny, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal sale of a controlled substance, according to the state Department of Corrections.

His license had been suspended at least 10 times before the crash after he failed to appear in court or pay a fine, according to his criminal complaint.

Simmons' lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zhagui was also drunk behind the wheel of his car and was charged with driving while intoxicated and driving while his ability was impaired, the DA said. He was released without bail.

His lawyer could not be reached for comment.