Manhattan DA charges hit-run driver with taking Inwood dad’s life

Joel Quintana, 42, was killed when he was struck by two cars while riding his motorcycle on August 3.
An alleged hit-and-run driver’s “unconscionable recklessness” in racing his Mercedes-Benz on the Henry Hudson Parkway stole the life of a hardworking and beloved father of six, Manhattan prosecutors charged at the suspect’s Friday arraignment.
Cary Brown, 28, of Brooklyn, was driving almost twice the speed limit on a suspended license Aug. 3 when he ran over 42-year-old Joel E. Quintana, who was laid out on the highway after being thrown off his motorcycle in a collision with a BMW that Brown was racing, prosecutors said.
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Cops arrested Cary Brown, one of the two hit-and-run drivers suspected of killing Joel Quintana on Aug. 3. (NYPD)
Brown is charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, leaving the scene of an incident, and related offenses.
Manhattan Assistant DA Taylor Holland described the evidence against Brown as “extremely strong,” telling the court his “unconscionable recklessness caused the death of an innocent person.”
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Holland asked bail be set as high as $1.5 million. A Manhattan Criminal Court judge set Brown’s bail at $500,000 cash or $700,000 bond.
Quintana, of Inwood, was driving the speed limit on his way to work the night shift at his manager job at Loew’s Hotel on the Upper East Side when he fell victim to Brown and the BMW driver’s daredevil driving, prosecutors charge.
The crash occurred as Quintana headed south on the parkway toward W. 145th St. in Harlem, according to court records. He was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital.
Brown and the BMW driver fled the scene as the dedicated dad lay dying on the roadway, with Brown speeding to pick his girlfriend up near 85th St., Holland alleged.
When investigators located and seized the car — which Brown didn’t own and wasn’t supposed to be driving — he and his partner made a flurry of calls to 911 and 311 reporting it missing, Holland alleged.
Cops executing a search warrant arrested Brown at his girlfriend’s Bronx home early Thursday.
Brown has pending felony cases in the Bronx and Queens for antics in his friend’s Mercedes-Benz.
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In the Queens case, he allegedly used the car to pursue unidentified victims in March, cutting off and stopping them on the Jackie Robinson Parkway before slashing their tires and yelling homophobic slurs.
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In the Bronx case, Brown is accused of striking a cop in the head after being pulled over for a traffic violation.
Quintana’s 6-year-old son is said to be distraught by his dad’s senseless passing.
The motorcyclist’s sister, Carolina Rodriguez, described him as a diligent driver whose therapeutic outlet was gliding on his motorcycle to work. He always wore a helmet, vest, and gloves, she said.
“They took a family man — a hardworking family man,” Rodriguez tearfully told the Daily News in August. “[His] 6-year-old is very sad. He keeps asking for his dad.”
The News could not reach Brown’s public defender for comment.
The NYPD’s Highway Collision Investigation Squad is still searching for the BMW driver involved in Quintana’s death.