NYPD says it's searching for U-Haul driver in fatal Queens hit-and-run

Police said a man was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in Queens early on Tuesday, and they’re searching for the driver and passenger of a U-Haul that fled the scene.

NYPD officials said the deadly collision happened just after midnight in Flushing, when a Honda Accord heading southbound on Kissena Boulevard collided with a U-Haul going westbound on the Horace Harding Expressway.

Police weren’t immediately sure what caused the crash, but said 56-year-old David Opiela was hit as he was walking nearby. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene, officials said.

The 42-year-old driver of the Honda Accord was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital in stable condition, while the woman who was driving the U-Haul jumped out of the truck and fled with another woman who was in the passenger seat, according to police.

Crashes in Flushing have ticked up slightly this year so far compared to last, with a total of 440 collisions reported and five fatalities from January through July, according to NYC Crash Mapper data. In the same time frame last year, 418 crashes and two fatalities were recorded in the neighborhood.

This story has been updated with additional information.