A deadly sequence unfolded on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway early Sunday after a passenger left a moving vehicle and landed on the highway. Police said another driver then struck and killed the woman, as reported by The New York Post

The fatal incident occurred shortly before 2:30 a.m. on the westbound expressway, according to the NYPD. The vehicle was approaching Exit 28 in DUMBO when the passenger went through its rear door.

Police identified the woman as Chasna Thelemaque, 37, of Prospect Park South in Brooklyn. She had been riding in the back of a Toyota Rav4 before landing in the right lane of the expressway.

Sources said the Toyota Rav4 was operating as an Uber at the time of the incident. The NYPD described the vehicle as moving when Thelemaque left through the rear door.

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According to police, Thelemaque “exited” the moving Rav4 and landed on the right lane of the highway. The expressway at that location had a speed limit of 50 mph.

Authorities had not determined from the available account whether Thelemaque intentionally left the Toyota or fell from it. Police said it remained unclear whether she may have fallen or bolted from the moving vehicle.

After Thelemaque landed on the expressway, a Hyundai Elantra struck her, according to police. The impact killed her following the unusual and deadly chain of events on the westbound roadway.

Police identified the Hyundai driver as Destiny Mendez, 29, of East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Cops said Mendez was intoxicated when the Hyundai struck and killed Thelemaque.

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Mendez was charged with vehicular assault, vehicular manslaughter, DWI, and driving while ability impaired, police said. Those were the four charges identified by authorities in their account of the fatal incident.

The driver who had been transporting Thelemaque was a 33-year-old man, according to the NYPD. He remained at the scene after Thelemaque left the moving Rav4 and was struck by the Hyundai.

Police did not identify the Toyota driver by name in the provided account. Sources described his vehicle as an Uber, while police identified it as a Toyota Rav4 carrying Thelemaque in the back seat.

The Toyota Rav4 and Hyundai Elantra never collided, police said. Instead, the fatal impact occurred after Thelemaque landed in the highway lane and the Hyundai struck her.

The distinction separates the incident from a collision between the two vehicles. Police described a sequence in which Thelemaque left the moving Toyota, landed in the right lane and was subsequently hit by the Hyundai.

Thelemaque was from Prospect Park South, while Mendez was from East Flatbush. Both locations were identified by police as being in Brooklyn.

The available police account did not resolve the central question of how Thelemaque came to leave the moving Rav4. Authorities said only that it was unclear whether she fell or bolted from the vehicle.

The incident began shortly before 2:30 a.m. as the Toyota traveled westbound toward Exit 28 in DUMBO. It ended with Thelemaque dead, the Toyota driver remaining at the scene and Mendez facing four charges.

Police attributed the fatal strike to the Hyundai driven by Mendez and said she was intoxicated. The NYPD also stressed that the Rav4 and Elantra themselves did not make contact during the deadly episode.

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