MANHATTAN — The passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver with a suspended license who sped through a red light in Kips Bay and collided with a Department of Transportation truck died, police said Monday.
Antonios Sikolas, 25, was speeding up Third Avenue in a Honda Civic with Ryota Funakoshi, 37, at about 2:27 a.m. on July 19 when he ran a light at East 34th Street and became wedged under the truck traveling east on the street, according to the NYPD and witnesses.
"Then the truck hit him really hard. It was like an explosion. It was really loud. Boom! A big noise. Everyone was running," said Pedro Hernandez, 51, after the crash.
The two vehicles then swerved into the westbound lane on 34th Street and rammed into a parked Toyota Camry with a 27-year-old man sitting inside.
Sikolas, who lives in Yonkers, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. Funakoshi was rushed to Bellevue in critical condition after suffering "skull deformities" and "major facial lacerations," according to a criminal complaint.
Funakoshi, who lived at West 49th Street near Eighth Avenue, succumbed to his injuries on July 25, police said.
The 48-year-old truck driver and a man sitting in the Camry were both taken to NYU Medical Center with minor injuries.
Sikolas, whose license was suspended after he failed to answer a ticket, was arrested several hours after the collision and charged with felony vehicular assault, DWI and driving without a license.
He was held without bail after being arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court.
His lawyer did not return an immediate request for comment.
