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Man charged with killing Flushing women in crash

By Cynthia Koons

It was the second accident the women were involved in that evening, according to police.Neng-Piao Zhang, 43, of 332 W. 37th St., was allegedly following a car in which the two women, Xin-Zi Zhang, 37, and Chun-Zi Zin, 42, were riding at about midnight Sunday, police said.The two cars were involved in a minor accident on the highway that evening prior to the fatal one, police said.Neng-Piao Zhang allegedly followed the car after the first accident and gestured to the driver, who was the new boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend, to pull over, according to published reports. Police did not say which woman was his ex-girlfriend.According to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, Neng-Piao Zhang was trying to get the driver to stop in the left lane of the northbound Whitestone Expressway at the 20th Avenue exit. When he was unsuccessful, he then cut in front of the car the women were in and reduced his speed, causing the cars to collide, DA Brown said. The women survived that accident, but were killed when a third car then rear-ended the Toyota they were in, police said.None of the drivers were injured in the collision, according to the DA.Both Xin-Zi Zhang and Zin lived at 132-18 60th Ave. in Flushing. No one answered the door at their house on Monday evening or Tuesday morning.Neng-Piao Zhang, who has no known employment, was charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide Monday in front of Judge Lenora Gerald in Queens Criminal Court.”According to the charges, the defendant caused the deaths of the victims as a result of his reckless and criminally negligent conduct,” DA Brown said. “It is alleged that he intentionally slowed his vehicle in a high speed lane of the Whitestone Expressway, causing a second vehicle in which the victims were passengers to collide with his vehicle, come to a stop and then be struck in the rear by a third vehicle causing their deaths.”Neng-Piao Zhang faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charges. He is due back in court Jan. 18.Reach reporter Cynthia Koons by e-mail at [email protected] or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 141.