Belt Parkway virus accident: Brooklyn man arrested and accused of staging virus accident for insurance fraud

ROSEDALE, Queens (WABC) — The passenger of a car that intentionally backed into another driver on the Belt Parkway earlier this month has been charged with staging a motor vehicle accident and other crimes.

The accident was captured on Ashpia Natasha's dashcam and viewed tens of millions of times.

Maikel Martinez was in the car that allegedly cut off another driver on the Belt Parkway, forcing him to stop. The car the defendant was in then backed into the victim's car.

“The defendant and others allegedly staged an accident on a busy highway and struck an unsuspecting driver with their vehicle after forcibly stopping her in the left lane of the Belt Parkway. This incredibly reckless behavior put countless lives at risk,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

Martinez, 28, of Dyker Heights, was charged Thursday evening with orchestrating a motor vehicle accident, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and insurance fraud. He pleaded not guilty and is due in court on January 7. If convicted, he faces two and a half to seven years in prison.

RELATED | NYPD investigates virus crash on Belt Parkway as possible insurance fraud

According to the charges, on October 16, 2024, at approximately 11:11 a.m., Natasha was driving north in the left lane of the Belt Parkway in Rosedale, near the Nassau County line. The woman's vehicle was equipped with a dashboard camera on both the front and rear.

The silver Honda Civic pulled in front of Natasha's vehicle and then came to a stop. The victim had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. The Honda then quickly backed into Natasha's vehicle, damaging both her car and the Honda. The occupants of the Honda held up what appeared to be a plastic sheet in the rear window area of ​​the car, partially blocking the victim's driver's view into the Honda, and the occupants of the vehicle changed their seating arrangements in the Honda.

After the collision, four people got out of the car, including a woman who got out on the driver's side and a man who identified himself as Maikel Martinez and said the alleged driver was his wife. Another woman and man who exited the vehicle are currently unidentified.

Footage surrounding the accident showed a red Kia Sport following Natasha's car. After the accident, the Kia stopped in front of the Honda and the fourth occupant of the Honda got out of the car and got into the Kia, which then left the scene of the accident.

Katz asks anyone who suspects they have been the victim of a staged car accident to call the NYPD Office of Fraudulent Collision Investigation Squad at 718-822-5403.

RELATED | Dashcam thwarts apparent insurance fraud on Belt Parkway in Queens

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