Story by Ethan
On September 5th, 2025, the arrest of Juventino Anastacio Florentino, age 23, was announced by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Juventino Anastacio Florentino was charged with two counts of second-degree Murder, two counts of second-degree Manslaughter, two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide, and other related unspecified charges. The arrest and charges against Juventino Anastacio Florentino were a result of an investigation handled by the NYPD’s Highway District Brooklyn Collision Investigation Squad and the detectives of the NYPD’s Brooklyn South Video Team.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, a motor vehicle accident, with two severely injured individuals present at the scene, was reported on 52nd Street at approximately 4:22 a.m. on July 11th, 2025. The car involved in the accident had fled from the scene after striking the victims. Responding officers identified the two victims as Kexun Chen, age 80, and Faqui Lin, age 59, and unfortunately both men were pronounced dead at the scene. Officers were able to recover video surveillance footage from the morning of the accident, vehicle parts from the scene of the crash, and proper identification of the BMW responsible for hitting the victims. Detectives allege that Juventino Anastacio Florentino was driving southbound on Third Avenue where he sped through a red light at 52nd Street, hitting Kexun Chen and Faqui Lin as they had the right of way while walking across the street using the crosswalk. After the collision, Juventino Anastacio Florentino immediately fled without reporting the incident to law enforcement. Later the same morning, Juventino Anastacio Florentino was located and arrested in his residence in Staten Island, New York. Juventino Anastacio Florentino’s vehicle sustained damage consistent with hitting two people and the vehicle parts found at the scene, and officers noted the defendant was showing signs of intoxication. After testing for Juventino Anastacio Florentino’s BAC (blood alcohol content), it was shown that the defendant had a BAC between .13% and .19%. In New Jersey, the legal BAC limit for operating a motor vehicle is .08%, meaning that Juventino Anastacio Florentino’s BAC during testing was approximately twice the legal limit. Eight hours after the crash, Juventino Anastacio Florentino admitted to drinking earlier and took another breathalyzer test that gave a result of .04%.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Juventino Anastacio Florentino are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
