Viral Queens video leads to insurance fraud arrest – NBC New York

A New York City man has been accused of staging a car accident last month to commit insurance fraud. The case gained widespread attention after the victim shared dashboard camera footage of the crash, authorities announced Friday.

Prosecutors say the 28-year-old Brooklyn man was in a car whose driver cut off another car in Queens and then intentionally backed into the vehicle.

“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,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement Press release. “Countless lives have been put at risk by this incredibly reckless behavior.”

According to prosecutors, Asphia Natasha was driving north on the Belt Parkway on Oct. 16 when a silver Honda Civic pulled in front of her car and stopped.

Natasha braked to avoid a collision and the driver of the Honda backed into her car, damaging both vehicles, prosecutors said.

The Honda's occupants held up what appeared to be a plastic sheet that partially blocked Natasha's view into the Honda, and the Honda's occupants changed places in the car, Katz said.

Natasha's dashboard camera captured the collision and the video has been viewed millions of times on TikTok.

After the accident, four people got out of the car. The 28-year-old man was arrested Thursday after arriving in New York on a flight from Ecuador, Katz said. Prosecutors believe he was sitting in the back seat of the Honda at the time of the accident. The search is still ongoing for the other three people who were in the car.

The man was charged with, among other things, staging a car accident, negligent endangerment and insurance fraud. He pleaded not guilty. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney.