Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 24-year-old Cedarhurst man has been charged with manslaughter in connection with a fatal two-vehicle crash in Woodmere that left a Valley Stream man dead, Nassau County police announced Thursday. According to Five Towns Patch, Nassau County police announced the arrest of Brayan Romero Flores on May 28, 2026, roughly two months after the collision claimed the life of 39-year-old Michael Kreindler.
The crash itself took place on the morning of March 19, 2026, at the intersection of University Street and Branch Boulevard in Woodmere. According to police, Kreindler’s Tesla was in the process of making a left turn from University Street onto Branch Boulevard when Flores’ Honda Accord struck it. The circumstances of the turn — and how Flores’ vehicle came to collide with the Tesla — are central to the case that Nassau County prosecutors have now formally filed.
In the immediate aftermath of the collision, both men were transported to the hospital, as Patch reported at the time. Kreindler was admitted in critical condition. He did not recover from his injuries and later died, police said, making this a fatal crash investigation from that point forward. Flores survived the collision and remained free until his arrest was announced this week.
Nassau County police announced on Thursday, May 28, that Flores had been taken into custody and charged in connection with the death. The charges are substantial and reflect the serious nature of the crash: one count of second-degree manslaughter, one count of criminally negligent homicide, one count of second-degree assault, and one count of reckless driving. The combination of charges signals that prosecutors believe Flores acted with a degree of recklessness that went well beyond ordinary negligence, though they fall short of an intentional act.
Per Five Towns Patch, Flores was arraigned Thursday in Nassau County court, where he entered a plea of not guilty to all four charges. The case is now proceeding through the court system. As of the time of reporting, no bail information was included in the publicly available details, nor were any additional details released by Nassau County authorities regarding the specific circumstances — such as speed or the presence of alcohol or drugs — that led to the reckless driving charge.
The two-month gap between the crash and the arrest is not unusual in cases involving vehicular homicide, as such investigations typically require extensive reconstruction work, review of surveillance footage, vehicle data extraction, and medical examiner findings before prosecutors are prepared to bring charges. The announcement of Flores’ arrest and arraignment in one news cycle suggests that the investigation had been proceeding steadily in the background since March.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place at the intersection of University Street and Branch Boulevard in Woodmere, a residential community in the Five Towns area of Nassau County on Long Island’s South Shore. Branch Boulevard is a primary north-south arterial road through the Five Towns corridor, carrying significant local traffic through Woodmere, Cedarhurst, and Lawrence. Left-turn movements across multi-lane roads like Branch Boulevard are among the more hazardous maneuvers in everyday driving, and intersections of this type frequently appear in crash statistics across Nassau County.
For regular coverage of road conditions, incidents, and closures in this area, visit our Long Island roads and accidents sections. Woodmere has seen a cluster of serious traffic incidents in recent months, including a follow-up update to this very crash reported on June 1, 2026, and a prior related arrest report from May 29, 2026.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Nassau County police formally announced Flores’ arrest on Thursday, May 28, 2026 — approximately ten weeks after the fatal crash on March 19. As reported by Five Towns Patch, Flores faces four counts: second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, second-degree assault, and reckless driving. The dual homicide charges — manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide — reflect the distinct legal standards prosecutors may pursue simultaneously, with manslaughter typically requiring proof of reckless disregard for human life and criminally negligent homicide requiring proof that the defendant failed to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk.
Flores was arraigned in Nassau County court on the day of his arrest and entered a not guilty plea to all charges, court documents show. The case is ongoing, and no additional details about potential bail conditions, next court dates, or the specific conduct alleged to constitute recklessness — such as excessive speed, distracted driving, or impairment — have been publicly released by Nassau County authorities as of the time of this report.
Broader Impact
Under New York State law, second-degree manslaughter is a Class C felony carrying a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in state prison, making the charge filed against Flores among the most serious that can arise from a non-intentional vehicular death. If convicted on all counts, Flores could face compounding sentences across the four charges. For those navigating questions about rights and liability following serious crashes, Long Island Traffic’s Know Your Rights section provides local guidance.