What Happened
Three teenagers died on the Belt Parkway near 65th Street in Brooklyn after a two-vehicle crash around 11:35 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, 2026, according to NYPD and sources cited by the New York Post.
Huzayfah Algaheim, 18, was behind the wheel of a black Cadillac Escalade with four passengers when he braked sharply. A Honda CRV trailing the SUV could not stop in time and rear-ended it. Both vehicles struck a guardrail. The Escalade spun, rolled over, and ejected Algaheim and two passengers onto the parkway.
Algaheim, passenger Rehman Abdul, 16, and passenger Konstantin Gerantidi, 17, were taken to the hospital in critical condition. All three died from their injuries, NYPD confirmed. Two other male occupants of the Escalade, a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old, were transported to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn in stable condition. The Honda’s driver, a 46-year-old woman, and her 44-year-old passenger suffered only minor injuries.
Investigators told the New York Post that, based on a preliminary probe, the Escalade was drifting in and out of lanes before the crash and that speeding was a factor. The Honda had no room to brake when the larger vehicle stopped abruptly and ended up partially jammed under the SUV before both hit the guardrail.
Mohammed Tufail, 70, whose nephew Rehman Abdul was among the dead, said the group had gone to the Village for dinner and was heading home. “He called his mother and said, ‘I’ll be home in 10 minutes,’” Tufail told the Post on Wednesday. He described Abdul as the only son in a family of roughly 200 relatives — his father is 78. Tufail said the teens were high school friends; all but Algaheim, who is Egyptian, are from Pakistani families. Abdul’s parents were too distraught to speak, Tufail said.
Told of Algaheim’s prior citations, Tufail said: “Rehman would not have known this. He would not get in the car if he knew this. He is not a reckless boy.” A family friend who asked not to be identified added, “This boy should not have been driving.”
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on the Belt Parkway near 65th Street in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. The Belt is a limited-access, state-maintained parkway that carries heavy overnight traffic from Brooklyn into Queens and Nassau County, with no commercial trucks permitted. The stretch near 65th Street runs elevated through a dense residential corridor with concrete guardrails dividing travel lanes from the shoulder.
The Belt Parkway connects Brooklyn to the Nassau County border and is a principal artery for commuters traveling between Long Island and New York City. Nighttime speed enforcement on the corridor has been a recurring issue for NYPD’s Highway Unit.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
NYPD was investigating the crash as of Wednesday, August 26, 2026. No charges had been publicly announced against any surviving party as of the Post’s report, but the department’s Highway District was leading the probe.
Algaheim’s prior record is central to the investigation. He was issued a summons for speeding and an unsafe lane change on the Belt Parkway in January 2026, according to the New York Post. A separate speeding citation in August 2025 triggered a temporary license suspension, which was lifted in November 2025. He had his license reinstated and was driving legally at the time of the crash, sources said. NYPD had not confirmed whether toxicology tests were ordered for any occupants.
Broader Impact
New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law allows for suspension of a junior driver’s license after two speeding convictions within 18 months. Algaheim received a suspension in August 2025 and was reinstated in November 2025, then cited again in January 2026 — a timeline NYPD sources and the Tufail family say the DMV’s reinstatement process will likely be examined as part of the investigation.