Harleen Grewal
Jan. 10, 2019 By Meghan Sackman
A 24-year-old Brooklyn man who crashed his car on the BQE in 2017 and left a 25-year-old Astoria woman inside his burning vehicle to die was sentenced yesterday to four to 12 years in prison, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
Saeed Ahmad, of Marine Park, was driving home drunk from a night out in Manhattan when he crashed his sedan into a side barrier at around 4 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2017, causing the car to explode and burst into flames. He was accompanied by a passenger, Harleen Grewal.
Ahmad, who was speeding and attempting to pass other vehicles at the time of the crash, was caught on camera getting out of the burning car and getting into a cab, which he directed to take him to the nearest hospital.
He left Grewal in the car to burn to death without calling 911. Grewal’s body was discovered by firefighters when they extinguished the flames.
Ahmad originally faced 25-years in prison after being charged with murder. He agreed to plea to second degree manslaughter on Nov. 27, 2018.
“This defendant’s senseless and reckless actions caused the death of a young woman who had her entire life ahead of her,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez in a statement. “Hopefully, the victim’s heartbroken family will find some solace with today’s sentencing.”
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34 Comments
I still think she should have been at home with her boyfriend, instead of in cars with other men. We need a return to good old values. Look what happened to her.
Sadly her bf still thinks nothing was going on. Oh well he’s probably better off now.
I guess you could say…he’s in the hot seat
What about the cab driver who saw what happened and still picked him? Was the cab driver just looking for a fare?
Yes we need congestion pricing to reduce behavior like this
this is so villainous that if i saw it in a TV show or movie i would find it too ridiculous to believe
Ong how disgusting, that poor young lady left to die so coldly as he flees. He should get life no parole or the death penalty if it were in this state. Rest her soul. ?
He got the correct sentence for this crime. His selfish actions lead to her death, but he did not intend to kill her. Thus, manslaughter not murder. It’s sorta weird that they originally tried to get him for murder.
I see there hasn’t been much of an improvement in sentencing a drunk driver who kills someone since 1989.
You hit the nail on the head!!! I believe that if someone drives a vehicle intoxicated and kills someone they should be charged with MURDER!!!
Why, some of you may ask? That person knows that they are drunk and they still drive. I say that it is PREMEDITATED!!!
First of all, to call him a man is over-stated. The time doesn’t even come close to the crime!! How about negligent homicide? My heart goes out to her family. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through and the anger and grief they’re feeling. His family must be so proud of him (yes sarcasm). I hope he doesn’t live long enough to serve his
sentence.
I don’t understand his logic. I understand you’re drunk and freaked out but you seriously don’t think that they’ll find out who you are by, I don’t know, your wrecked car?
Have you seen the original video, didn’t look freaked out to me. Just stumbling and hailed for a cab like it was an everyday event. You can find the video further back you go in the post.
I don’t normally weigh in on things like this, but after looking back at the original story: Holy sh*t, this guy deserves worse.
Poor woman. The guy was awful but at the end of the day she was just another casualty of alcohol. Car crashes, falls, drownings, bad decisions, bad crowds, STDs, Cancer, Criminal lifestyle… everybody misses it. So much of tragedy has alcohol behind it, fueling it, causing it. Advertised on TV and print freely and aggressively, Heineken everywhere. And sure, the latest studies are nothing but bad news for the purveyors of the so called benefits of moderation… basically, the negatives far outweigh the heart benefits…you know we are still many years away with alcohol the way we are with cigarettes now. Prohibition didn’t work… but certainly eliminating TV advertising of it and making clear how dangerous this carcinogenic substance that is the leading risk factor for disease worldwide, accounting for almost 10 percent of deaths among those ages 15 to 49 is. That and taxing the hell out of it could perhaps save many lives.
they need a spiritual solution. Perhaps mandatory Alcoholic Anonymous meetings in Pre-K will get people on the spiritual path they so desperately need to be on. Then by the time they get to high school they can experiment (with supervision) with LSD then sell snake oil to the masses. I pray for them all.
Sociopathy will get you nowhere. What is needed is for alcohol to become expensive and unadvertised. You want your moderate red wine glass… it should cost you $20 a glass and be hard to find and you should know you are a future cancer case.
If not life, at least 25 years.
He won’t be out in 4 yrs. I’m sure Everytime he comes up for parole, her family will there to remind everyone of the nature of his crime and the board will continue to deny him until he served the full time. His life is ruined anyway. He doesn’t deserve a second chance.
He’ll get what he deserves in prison because obviously he is a punk and a coward.
Really.. In my professional career I investigate n prepare court reports n drug dealers are sentenced to more time than that…its disgusting….n unjust…please re-evaluate…
No wonder the court system is in shambles. Please go back to the 6th grade and brush up on composition skills…
Disgusting…the crime does not match the time..
He took this young woman’s life by not helping her in a burning car!!! He’s sentenced was too leaninant? Prayers to woman’s family ?
Fry him! Just like she BURNED TO DEATH! What an insult to justice. Life should be the minimum ???
If he would have been black he would have gotten sentenced to 25 to life
If he had been black cops would have shot him
Wow he caused someone their life and he only gets 4 to 12. He knew exactly what he was doing he deserves life behind bars to suffer
He should have not been allowed to plea bargain. 25 years wasn’t even enough for what he did.
This is a crazy sentence. Drunk driving and leaving someone to die and can possible be out in 4 years minus whatever they give you for good behavior?
How the hell did he get out with no injuries when the car looks to be totaled?
Also, we all should be packing fire extinguishers in our cars after seeing this video. When it first started burning someone could have tried to put it out, no?
Disgusting! He should have got life!
Only 4-12 years for driving drunk and causing someone a horrible death?
I’m just as surprised as you. I thought it’d be less.