Two killed in crash
A boozed-up motorist was charged with vehicular manslaughter after his actions behind the wheel allegedly led to the deaths of two women.
Officials said that the victims, ages 24 ad 33, were riding in the back of the 1996 Infiniti at 3:30 a.m. on January 10 when driver Oleg Pantchenko, a resident of Avenue Z in Sheepshead Bay, lost control of the wheel.
Horrified witnesses said that the vehicle hit a guardrail on the eastbound Belt Parkway near Fourth Avenue and 80th Street, and careened across three lanes of traffic, striking several cars as they passed.
The Infiniti ultimately came to a stop when it slammed into the middle median. The force of the impact was so severe that the two young women were ejected from the car, officials said.
The women died at the scene, said police. A woman in the front seat was taken to Lutheran Medical Center where she was listed in stable condition after treatment.
Pantchenko, who managed to escape serious injury, was taken into custody once police learned that he had been allegedly drinking before the accident.
Tracked and robbed
A thief followed a motorist from Sheepshead Bay to Bay Ridge so he could swipe a cell phone he felt he was owed from the man’s car, officials alleged.
Police allege that the victim was waiting for the light to change at 65th Street and 4th Avenue — just down the block from the 68th Precinct — at 10 p.m. on January 7 when Hasnanin Hamid, 21, allegedly pulled open the passenger side door and threatened him with a knife.
Hamid allegedly grabbed the victim’s cell phone and ran off, only to resurface in Sheepshead Bay near the corner of Coney Island Avenue and Avenue Z.
When he was taken into custody, Hamid allegedly claimed that he had lent the victim had owed him money.
He freely told police that he had lent the victim — who worked in a cell phone store — $100 so he could “help with my cell phone bill, police alleged.”
Hamid alleged that he had given the victim another $150 for a new phone, but he never received it. After repeated attempts to get his money back, Hamid saw the victim driving around Sheepshead Bay.
He followed his victim along the Belt Parkway to Bay Ridge, when he finally decided to take action, police alleged.
“I jumped out of the car and opened the passenger side of his car and said, ‘Give me the money you owe me,’” he told police, according to a complaint filed with the Kings County District Attorney’s office. “The phone was in the center console of the car. I opened it, took the phone and got back in my car and left.”
Hamid denied threatening the victim with a knife. Cops charged him with robbery in the first degree, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property.
Manhandling couple sought
A crooked couple are being sought for grabbing a woman off the street and escorting her to the corner of 76th Street and Sixth Avenue, where they ultimately mugged her.
The frazzled victim told police that she was walking along Fifth Avenue near 72nd Street on her way to a nearby travel agency on the morning of January 7 when a 38-year-old woman grabbed her by the arm.
“Come with me, pretend you’re my cousin,” the woman said as she guided her up 72nd Street to Sixth Avenue.
“Don’t look back,” the stranger threatened as she led her to a male accomplice, also 38, waiting for them at 76th Street.
That’s when the woman snatched her purse, removing some jewelry and $700, officials said.
The victim told police she tried to snatch the money back, but the thieves grabbed it back and ran off, leaving her penniless.
Cops are investigating the woman’s claims as this paper went to press. It was unclear if the victim was specifically targeted or if the robbers selected her at random.
Bag swipe
A 20-year-old woman had her handbag ripped off her forearm as she walked through Dyker Heights last week.
Police were told that the young woman was nearing 11th and Ovington avenues at 3:30 a.m. January 5 when a Hispanic male and a white male approached, grabbing the red leather purse from her grasp, as they ran by.
The thieves didn’t waste time with their newfound loot, said police, who added that one of the stolen credit cards was used at a nearby Getty station.
Computer clean-out
A Macintosh laptop, GPS device and a Blackberry were removed from a car parked on 82nd Street.
A 26-year-old woman said that she parked her car near Ridge Boulevard at 1 p.m. on January 5.
She returned about six hours later to find that someone had broken the passenger window and removed a laptop bag containing the pricey items.
Crooks targeting crooks
Talk about the “Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.”
A crew of gun-toting thugs ended up accidentally shooting each other during a daring heist at a nearby Bensonhurst jewelry store.
Police said that the three suspects, described as black males in their 20s, entered Benz Jewelers, 2039 86th Street, at 1 p.m. on December 29 and flashed their weapons.
They then began barking orders, demanding that workers hand over all the cash and jewelry.
What they didn’t expect was their prey’s pluck, however.
When one of the victims began struggling with the would-be ringleader, the man shot off a round – right at his partner, police said.
“I’m hit!” the wounded man screamed before all three scrambled out of the store.
The panicked perpetrators did have the wherewithal to run off with some of the jewels and the money, said police, who were still looking for the three suspects as this paper went to press.
Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to come forward.
Calls can be made to the 62nd Precinct at (718) 236-2611. All calls will be kept confidential.
