A drugged up driver was charged with vehicular manslaughter after he flipped his car in Queens, killing a 23-year-old passenger in the packed car on the way home from a birthday party, cops said.
Recent Brooklyn College grad Arrianna Arregui, 23, was riding in the backseat of a gray Honda Accord when the driver, Anthony Dickson, 34, lost control on the Grand Central Parkway near the Steinway overpass just after 4 a.m. Sunday, police said.
The left rear wheel of the Honda struck the curb line dividing the highway before the car skidded sideways, overturned and knocked over a light pole, according to cops.
Arregui, who suffered severe head and body trauma, was taken to the Elmhurst Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead, authorities said.
She had just graduated from Brooklyn College this year with a bachelor’s degree in biology, according to the college’s records.
“That’s my daughter,” Arregui’s grief-stricken father, Johnny Arregui, told The New York Daily News. “I can’t believe my daughter flew out the window.
“There was five people in the car,” he added. “She was in the backseat in the middle.”
The driver and three other women riding in the car — ages 23, 24 and 32 – were either unharmed or suffered minor injuries, police said.
Dickson was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while ability impaired, cops said.
Police could not confirm whether he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, specifically.
One of the surviving passengers said the crew, all from Brooklyn, had packed into the car on the way home from a friend’s birthday party.
“Arianna was like family to us,” the woman, who identified herself as the driver’s couson, told The News. “The whole car was family. It’s just unfortunate.”
“She’s been in my life my whole entire life,” the cousin added.“It’s a tremendous loss for everyone … She just graduated college. She just got a haircut.”
Dickson’s arraignment was pending Monday.
