Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Asil Assaidi was charged with reckless endangerment, riot and other related crimes for performing dangerous, fiery driving stunts near two gas stations near the border of Middle Village and Maspeth on April 18. As a crowd of bystanders stood nearby, Assaidi and another driver circled the intersection of 69^th Street and Eliot Avenue creating sparks and skid marks with their cars.

District Attorney Katz said: “As alleged, this defendant put countless people in peril as he recklessly drove on a fiery street near pedestrians and gas stations. This careless stunt very easily could have ended in injuries and death. We are determined to find and prosecute the people who organized and participated in this dangerous and illegal car meetup. The investigation into this case is ongoing and I thank our partners at the NYPD for their assistance in this case.”

Assaidi, 22, of the Bronx, was arraigned this morning on a six-count criminal complaint charging him with reckless endangerment in the first degree, riot in the second degree, unlawful assembly, reckless driving, operating or driving a motor vehicle without a license and operating a motor vehicle without insurance. The charges are not bail eligible under New York state law.

Queens Criminal Court Judge Indira Khan ordered the defendant to return to court May 14. If convicted of the top charge, Assaidi faces up to seven years in prison.

District Attorney Katz said that, according to the complaint, on April 18, 2026, at approximately 1:45 a.m., Asil Assaidi was operating a blue Infiniti G37 with a dark hood panel and missing front bumper at the intersection of 69^th Street and Eliot Avenue. The defendant was among a large congregation of people near a BP gas station and a Mobil gas station.

The defendant drove the vehicle in multiples circles around the intersection nearly colliding with several people standing nearby. Skid marks formed on the road surface and smoke and sparks were produced from the rear end of the car. An individual poured liquid onto the ground and ignited a ring of flames between the defendant’s car and the assembled crowd.

The defendant repeated the reckless driving with a second driver in a silver vehicle that included a second ring of flames in front of the crowd.

By approximately 1:50 a.m., NYPD officers in marked patrol cars arrived at the intersection of 69^th Street and Eliot Avenue in response to multiple 911 calls as Assaidi and the second car continued to drive in circles.

Police officers in marked patrol cars began dispersing the crowd of approximately 100 people and 50 cars. At that time, an individual used a traffic barrier to block one of the patrol cars and two other individuals jumped onto the police vehicle’s hood and cracked the windshield. The trio then fled amidst the departing crowd and vehicles leaving the area.

Law enforcement officials later identified the defendant as the driver of the blue Infiniti G37 via video footage of the incident.

Assistant District Attorney Danielle Catinella of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Shelby Mueller, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Whitney, Bureau Chief, Roni C. Piplani and Timothy Regan, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.