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March 5, 2021 By Michael Dorgan
A driver who fled the scene after fatally running over a man near JFK Airport in January has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and other crimes.
Kevin Drawhorne, 27, was arraigned Wednesday for the death of Michael Agurkis, whom he allegedly struck with his car on Jan. 29 while the victim was standing on the side of the Nassau Expressway near North Hangar Road.
Agurkis, according to the charges, had pulled his car over to help another driver who was having mechanical trouble with a minivan at around 8 p.m.
Drawhorne, who was driving a 2012 Ford Econoline van at high speed, collided with Agurkis and the minivan driver who were both standing in front of the broken-down vehicle. Drawhorne’s Ford also struck the minivan.
Michael Agurkis (Photo: GoFundMe)
The 27-year-old fled the scene without stopping and he also failed to call the police, prosecutors said.
Agurkis, 51, was knocked to the ground and sustained severe injuries to his torso. The Long Island resident was transferred to a local area hospital where he later died from his injuries. The minivan driver suffered minor leg pain.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said that Agurkis was a Good Samaritan who was coming to the aid of another person.
“A man who was doing a good deed – helping another driver with car trouble – was senselessly killed,” Katz said.
“This kind of behavior is not only callous but also criminal.”
Drawhorne, a Jamaica resident, was also charged with leaving the scene without reporting the incident, operating a vehicle without a license and speeding.
He was ordered back to court on March 16 and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
A GoFundMe page was set up for Agurkis’ three children shortly after the incident. It has raised more than $57,000.
