I.P. man charged with driving while drunk

An Island Park man has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated and other charges after allegedly slamming into the back of a parked yellow school bus on the morning of Dec. 18 in East Flushing and killing his female passenger.

“This was an absolutely senseless tragedy with deadly consequences for an innocent young woman," said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown. "During this holiday season, motorists must be very mindful of how deadly motor vehicles can be and the consequences of climbing behind the wheel after drinking.”

The D.A. identified the driver as Kyung R. Song, 29, of Island Park. Song was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on a criminal complaint charging him with first- and second-degree vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Song pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, Song faces up to 15 years in prison. He is being held on bail of $750,000 bond or $500,000 cash. His next court date is Jan. 7.

According to the charges, Song was driving a black 2014 Porsche in the very early morning on Dec. 18 when he crashed into the back of a parked yellow school bus in front of P.S. 22, Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.

When police arrived at the scene, they observed that the Porsche had severe front-end damage, Song was unconscious in the driver’s seat, and his passenger, an unidentified Asian woman, was in the front passenger seat and did not appear to be breathing or moving.

As the car’s occupants were placed into an ambulance for transport to a local Queens hospital, police allegedly observed that Song had bloodshot and watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and that the passenger had sustained massive head injuries, from which she died shortly thereafter.

According to the complaint, Song told to police while at the hospital that he was driving 33 miles per hour when he came around a curve in the road and his tire slipped, causing him to hit the back of the school bus. He also allegedly told police that his passenger told him to slow down, that they had been coming from a bar, and that he drank six beers and three shots of liquor.

The crash was on a residential street in front the school, where the unposted speed limit is 25 miles per hour. It is alleged that a portable breath test administered to Song showed a blood alcohol content of .176, which is above the legal limit of .08.

At the hospital, it is alleged that Song was asked if he would submit to a blood test and he refused. Thereafter, an order was issued by Queens Supreme Court Justice Deborah Stevens Modica, which authorized that Song's blood be taken and tested for the presence of alcohol and/or drugs. The results of that test are pending as of press time Monday.