ROSEDALE, Queens (WABC) — The occupant of a car that intentionally backed into another driver along the Belt Parkway earlier this month, he was charged with organizing a car crash and other crimes.

The accident was captured by Ashpia Natasha’s dash cam and viewed tens of millions of times.

Maikel Martinez was in the car that allegedly cut off another driver on the Belt Parkway, forcing that driver to stop. The car the defendant was in then drove into the victim’s car.

“The defendant and others allegedly staged an accident on a busy highway and struck an unsuspecting motorist with their vehicle after forcing her to stop in the left lane of the Belt Parkway. Countless lives were put at risk because of this incredibly reckless behavior,” Queens DA Melinda Katz said.

Martinez, 28, of Dyker Heights, was arraigned Thursday night on charges of orchestrating a car accident, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and insurance fraud. He has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on January 7. If convicted, he faces up to 2 1/2 to seven years in prison.

RELATED | NYPD is investigating viral Belt Parkway crash as possible insurance fraud

According to the charges, on Oct. 16, 2024, at approximately 11:11 a.m., Natasha was driving north in the left lane of the Belt Parkway in Rosedale, near the Nassau County border. The woman’s vehicle was equipped with both a front-facing camera and a rear-facing camera on board.

The silver Honda Civic cut in front of Natasha’s vehicle and then stopped. The victim had to step on the brakes to avoid a collision. The Honda quickly plowed back into Natasha’s vehicle, damaging both her car and the Honda. The occupants of the Honda raised what appeared to be a plastic tarp in the rear window area of ​​the car that partially obstructed the victim driver’s view of the interior of the Honda, and the occupants of the vehicle repositioned their seating arrangements within the Honda.

After the collision, four people got out of the car, including a woman who got out of the driver’s side and a man who identified himself as Maikel Martinez and said the alleged driver was his wife. Another woman and a man who exited the vehicle are currently unidentified.

Footage from around the crash showed a red Kia Sport following Natasha’s car. After the crash, the Kia stopped in front of the Honda, and the Honda’s fourth occupant got out of that car and into the Kia, which then left the scene.

Katz is asking anyone who suspects they were the victim of a car crash scene to call the NYPD’s Fraudulent Collision Investigation Bureau at 718-822-5403.

RELATED | Dash Cam busts apparent insurance scam on Belt Parkway in Queens

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