A 32-year-old Long Island woman died after jumping from a moving Uber onto a busy New York City highway during the early hours of Saturday morning. Priyanka Sewhani of Oster Bay fell to her death from the backseat of a 2019 Volkswagen Passat traveling eastbound on the Long Island Expressway at approximately 1:40 a.m.
Police reported that a 45-year-old man was driving the Uber. After Sewhani fell, another vehicle heading eastbound "unknowingly struck" her and left the scene without stopping. The NYPD told the Daily Mail that investigators are yet to uncover a motive for the jump. "The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made," a spokesperson said.
Mysterious Death
Paramedics arrived at the scene and pronounced Sewhani, a resident of Westview Drive in Oyster Bay, Long Island, dead on the highway. The Uber driver remained at the scene and was unharmed.
All four eastbound lanes were temporarily shut down following the incident to allow the NYPD highway patrol to conduct their investigation.
In an email, an Uber representative said that the company would fully cooperate with any investigation into the matter.
"We're holding the rider's loved ones in our hearts in the wake of this horrific tragedy," the spokesperson said. "We stand ready to support law enforcement with their investigation however we can."
This incident follows the death of a YouTuber known for sharing videos of high-speed drives in his BMW X5. Andre Beadle, who went by the online alias 1Stockf30, died earlier this month after his car overturned on a New York City highway.
Beadle, 25, from the Bronx, died on November 5 when his BMW collided with an Acura and flipped over on a Queens highway near JFK airport. According to the NYPD, he was driving "at a high rate of speed" when he lost control, swerved off the road, and crashed.
Thrown from the luxury SUV, Beadle was found on the ground by emergency responders. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
Investigation Ongoing
A 21-year-old passenger in Beadle's vehicle was injured but survived the crash. The Acura's driver was unharmed in the crash. The crash is still under investigation, but witnesses suggest it took place during a street race, according to The Mirror.
A memorial with a balloon release will be held in honor of the car influencer on Friday afternoon at a park in the Bronx.
A 20-minute video has been uploaded to Beadle's YouTube channel, showing him and his friends working on his purple BMW just hours before the fatal crash.
In the video, Beadle is seen laughing with friends as they make last-minute adjustments to the car in preparation for the race. "We outside prepping late at night," he says in the footage. "We getting ready."
A video of his final race has since spread on social media, shared by devastated witnesses.
