Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Daveanand Budhai was indicted for the death of Isabel Alvarez, who was the flag person in a construction zone on the Nassau Expressway when she was struck and killed on September 19.

DA Katz said: “As alleged, Isabel Alvarez did not stand a chance when the defendant sped into the highway construction zone and plowed his Infiniti sedan into the flag woman’s body. After the victim was thrown into the air and killed, Daveanand Budhai kept driving. When the defendant finally called 911 from more  than a mile away from the crash, it was for injuries he sustained. Budhai has now been indicted by a grand jury, and we will seek justice for Ms. Alvarez and her loved ones.”

Budhai, 25, of 115^th Street in South Ozone Park, was charged in a criminal complaint on September 20 with manslaughter in the second degree, assault in the second degree, leaving the scene without reporting death, reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second and third degrees and speed restrictions; basic and maximum limits. If convicted of those charges, the defendant faces up to 22 years in prison.

The defendant will be arraigned on the indictment in Queens Supreme Court on October 30 before Judge Hartofilis.

DA Katz said that, according to the criminal complaint, just before 7:30 a.m. on September 19, 2025, the defendant was driving an Infiniti sedan going eastbound at a high rate of speed on the Nassau Expressway. Budhai approached Exit 1N, which feeds into the Van Wyck Expressway. That ramp, however, was an active construction zone and the left lane was closed and marked with multiple traffic drums and signage. The posted speed for the ramp was 25 mph.

Budhai allegedly slammed into the traffic drums and then struck Alvarez, 44, who was the flag person holding a paddle that said “STOP/SLOW.” She was also wearing her required safety equipment, including a hard hat and a fluorescent reflective visibility vest.

At impact, Alvarez’s body was thrown roughly 168 feet through the air. Her body landed on the left shoulder of the roadway and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

After hitting Alvarez, the defendant allegedly drove away from the area. He exited the expressway and stopped at 134th Street and South Conduit Avenue – approximately a mile from the scene of the collision. Budhai called 911 to request an ambulance for injuries that he sustained to his hands in the incident.

When police arrived to aid the defendant, the vehicle Budhai drove was observed to have significant front-end damage, including a shattered windshield. There was both blood and glass inside the vehicle and fluorescent markings visible on the hood of the car.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Christopher Paul of the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad.

Assistant District Attorney Vivian Gonzalez of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Matthew Hauszpigel, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Jonathan Selkowe, Unit Chief of the District Attorney’s Vehicular Homicide Unit and Deputy Bureau Chief of the Homicide Bureau, and John Kosinski, Bureau Chief of the Homicide Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.