2 Brooklynites arraigned in fatal Lawrence crash

The two people who allegedly caused a five-car crash on the Nassau Expressway in Lawrence resulting in the deaths of Elisheva Kaplan, a”h, and Yisroel Levin, z”l, were arraigned on June 20.

Zakiyyah Steward, 25, of Park Avenue, Brooklyn, is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Rahmel Watkins, 35, of Quincy Street, also in Brooklyn, faces charges including manslaughter, assault and reckless driving. He pleased not guilty and is being held on $1 million bond and $500,000 cash bail.

Elisheva Kaplan, 20, and Yisroel Levin, 21, were killed in the crash that occurred between Bay Boulevard near Rockaway Turnpike and Burnside Avenue at 1:40 am on April 4, during chol ha’moed Pesach.

Kaplan, a Far Rockaway resident, was the daughter of Joel Kaplan, chazan at Congregation Beth Sholom in Lawrence. She was in the car with her fiancé, Levin, from Flatbush, returning from a visit to Yisroel’s grandparents in Monsey. They had planned to be married in three months.

A total of nine people were involved in the pileup.

The Levin and Kaplan families thanked the Nassau County District Attorney’s office and the Nassau County Police Department “for their diligent, resourceful, and professional efforts,” Yeshiva World News reported. “We hope and pray that these proceedings will bring a level of accountability to those whose behavior caused this never ending heartbreak.”

According to prosecutors, Watkins was driving a 2010 BMW 5501 GT “dangerously fast,” possibly racing at least one other vehicle, before his car careened into the opposite lane and crashed into the 2017 Nissan Altima driven by Levin. The Altima burst into flames and was thrown more than 200 feet back. The pair was trapped in the burning car, law enforcement officials said.

Authorities said that the BMW then hit an Infiniti, whose driver suffered a broken spine. Steward was said to be speeding adjacent to Watkins in a 2016 Hyundai Genesis, allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.

Her car also struck the Altima, prosecutors said.

The Nassau County District Attorney’s office said it is seeking information about Watkins’s car from BMW. “We need to know the speed, velocity and braking information of the BMW,” DA Madeline Singas said. “The information is vital to the investigation and collision reconstruction.”

Oleg Satanovsky, a spokesman for BMW, said that the 2010 model doesn’t have an event data recorder and noted that the National Highway Traffic Association guidelines did not mandate such equipment until 2013.

“Unfortunately that model does not have an event data recorder,” he said. “The Five series were the first cars to get the event data recorder, which is accessible using a commercially available tool, and depending on state privacy laws.”

Steward and Watkins are both due back in court on July 18.

In a statement, the Levin and Kaplan families said they were devastated by the loss.

“There were no finer, more beloved, and more loving young people than Yisroel and Elisheva,” they said. “They were destined for a beautiful life together as husband and wife, surrounded by their loving families and friends.

“The world shook when they were so abruptly taken from us, so tragically and with such violent force. The void left by their absence from this world has only been magnified in the less than three months since April 4th.

“We have been strengthened immeasurably by the tens of thousands of friends and family, who have reached out to us to share our pain. The countless good deeds

being performed by friends and strangers alike as a merit to their memory do provide a degree of comfort. But nothing can replace Yisroel and Elisheva.”

At a memorial service held a few weeks after the crash, Rabbi Kenneth Hain of Beth Shalom said that “our entire community is still shaking from this loss.”

Elisheva’s father, Joel Kaplan, said “the void and pain and emptiness is so unbearable it cannot be imagined.”

“Everyday I wake up and go through the day with what I can only describe as a heavy stone on my heart,” he continued.

“The stone is always with me, and I’m desperate for it to go away. So many of us have these stones.”

“The Kaplans and Levins know with absolute certainty that Elisheva and Yisroel are in a better place,” he said. “And they are together, as they were destined to be from the very start.”

Each person at the memorial service was asked by Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro of Congregation Shaaray Tefilah, of North Miami Beach, to better “appreciate what you have and who you have.”

“I hope I hug my children tighter,” he said. “Those that are in our backyard, those that are nearest and dearest … don’t take anything or anyone for granted, but appreciate and love more often.”