Driver arrested in Manhattan car crash that killed passenger

NEW YORK (AP) - Police have arrested the driver in a midtown Manhattan car crash that killed a passenger.

Police say 32-year-old Shiva Sharma, of Wyandanch, Long Island, was arrested Tuesday on vehicular manslaughter charges. Information on his lawyer was not immediately available.

Police say Sharma was driving northbound on Sixth Avenue outside the Warwick Hotel when he lost control and struck a fire hydrant near 54th Street early Tuesday morning.

Police say the passenger, identified as 33-year-old Juan Avila, of Jackson Heights, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Sharma was hospitalized in critical condition.

Investigators were looking into whether speed was a factor.

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Information from: WNBC-TV, https://www.nbcnewyork.com