The family of a LaGuardia Airport baggage handler who was killed by a drunk firefighter in a Queens crash unveiled a street sign in the victim’s honor Saturday on the block of the deadly collision.
Councilman Francisco Moya and the family of Justin Diaz, who was 23 when he died, co-named 107th St. and Northern Blvd. in East Elmhurst Justin Diaz Way in an 11 a.m. ceremony. The family hopes the street sign will bring awareness to the consequences of impaired and reckless driving.
Diaz was on his way to his airport baggage-handling job around 4:15 a.m. on Feb. 26 when a Mercedes-Benz speeding 83 mph in a 25-mph zone plowed into the driver’s side of his BMW. Diaz had the right of way. Pena blasted through a steady red light, T-boning Diaz’s car, prosecutors said.
Diaz, who was just a couple of blocks from his home, died after being rushed by medics to Elmhurst Hospital Center.
“He just earned his degree in aeronautics,” his brother, Franklin Diaz, said after the heartbreaking loss. “He was only 23 with his entire life ahead of him.”
The firefighter, Michael Pena, 28, was suspended from his job without pay for 28 days pending an investigation. He lives in Oakland Gardens, Queens, according to authorities.
After a warrant was issued to draw Pena’s blood, investigators said he was found to be high on both cocaine and marijuana. His blood-alcohol content tested at 0.156 percent, nearly twice the legal threshold of 0.08, prosecutors said.
Pena was charged with vehicular manslaughter, DWI and refusing to take a breath test. Following his arraignment, his license was suspended and Queens Criminal Court Judge Anthony Battisti set cash bail for him at $50,000 or $100,000 bond, which the firefighter posted.
Pena is still set to appear back in court, with his next court date scheduled for Jan. 8.
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