Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez speaks during a news conference. Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced that a man was arraigned on an indictment charging him with manslaughter and related charges for allegedly speeding and blowing through a stop sign before crashing into a school bus, leaving his 26-year-old passenger dead and the school bus driver injured. No passengers were on the bus at the time of the incident.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “The tragic loss of Imani Vance was allegedly caused by the defendant’s reckless decision to ignore a stop sign and drive at excessive speeds. His actions showed a shocking disregard for human life and safety, made worse by his attempt to flee the scene instead of helping the victim. We are committed to holding him fully accountable and will continue to prioritize the safety of every Brooklyn resident.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Tyree Epps, 32, of Brooklyn. He was arraigned by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dineen Riviezzo and charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, disobeying stop signs, driving more than maximum speed limits and unlicensed driving. He was ordered held without bail and to return to court on June 20, 2025.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on February 27, 2025, at approximately 1:15 p.m., the defendant was driving a 2008 Mercedes-Benz C300 southbound on Van Sinderen Avenue towards Blake Avenue in East New York with a passenger, Imani Vance, 26, in the front seat. At the corner of Van Sinderen and Blake, the defendant allegedly blew through a stop sign at a high rate of speed and collided with a school bus that was driving on Blake Avenue. When the defendant allegedly crashed into the school bus, his passenger was thrown into the windshield and hit her head. When the defendant hit the bus, it crashed into a third, unoccupied vehicle. The bus driver, a 57-year-old woman, suffered minor injuries.
Imani Vance was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead due to blunt impact injuries to the torso, including a laceration to the heart.
The defendant allegedly fled the crash scene on foot, jumped into an Uber, and ordered the driver to drive away. Police had a description of the Uber and were able to stop it, at which time the defendant allegedly fled on foot and was chased and apprehended by the NYPD.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer DaRin of the District Attorney’s Red Zone Trial Bureau under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Christopher Velez, Deputy Chief of the Street Safety Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Andrea Orlando, Deputy Chief of the Red Zone and the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Karla Watson, Chief of the Red Zone.
