Driver charged with manslaughter, homicide in East New York school bus hit-and-run • Brooklyn Paper
A Brooklyn man was charged for a deadly hit-and-run on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Ajay Suresh/Wikimedia Commons
A Brooklyn man was indicted Wednesday for an East New York hit-and-run that left his passenger dead and another driver injured.
Tyree Epps was charged on April 9 with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, speeding, driving without a license, disobeying stop signs, and leaving the scene of an accident without reporting. Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Dineen Riviezzo ordered him to be held without bail until his next court appearance in June.
Epps’ top charge, second-degree manslaughter, carries a maximum possible prison sentence of 15 years.
According to police and the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, Epps blew a stop sign at the intersection of Van Sinderen and Blake avenues on Feb. 27, 2025, and crashed into a school bus on Blake Avenue. The force of the impact threw his passenger, 26-year-old Imani Vance, into the windshield, and pushed the bus into a third unoccupied vehicle.
Vance was pronounced dead that day from blunt impact injuries to her torso and a laceration to her heart. The bus was empty of passengers at the time of the crash, but the bus driver received minor injuries.
Epps ran from the scene, according to the DA’s office, then called an Uber and ordered the driver to drive away. When officers stopped the Uber, Epps jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot, but was chased and arrested by police.
“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,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. “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.”
The Feb. 27 crash was one of three fatal traffic incidents reported in Brooklyn in just one weekend. Though traffic fatalities are down both citywide and in Brooklyn, according to the NYPD, at least 15 people have been killed in crashes across Kings County so far this year, city data shows, including at least 10 drivers and three pedestrians. Thousands more have been injured in crashes largely attributed to driver inattention and failure to yield right-of-way.
