A New York City man was extradited to Broward County this week after law enforcement officials say he drunkenly drove a car that crashed on Interstate-95, killing two people in 2022.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers say Nick-Quan Francis, 30, was intoxicated when he slammed the rented Honda sedan he was driving into an impact attenuator on a highway barrier at 89 mph around 6:30 a.m. on May 8, 2022, in Fort Lauderdale.
Two passengers not wearing seatbelts were ejected upon impact and died. A third passenger, who was wearing a seatbelt, lived and told troopers that Francis was driving, per his probable cause warrant.
Francis was also injured in the crash and taken to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Francis initially denied to troopers that he was the driver. But investigators determined he was based on a statement from the surviving passenger and by linking him to the DNA found on the blood-soaked driver’s side airbag, according to the warrant.
A trooper also noticed a bruise on his shoulder consistent with the seatbelt on the front left side of the car, the warrant states.
Francis did not have a driver’s license, the warrant reveals, only a passport from his home country of Antigua and Barbuda.
According to the surviving passenger, all four people were driving back from Miami, where Francis DJed a party at the Fancy Loaf Caribbean Bakery at 1014 Northeast 215th Street. They arrived at the party around midnight, and the witness told troopers Francis was drinking Hennessy cognac from the bottle throughout the occasion, the warrant states.
Blood drawn from Francis at the hospital showed he had a blood alcohol level of .106 an hour after the crash, according to the warrant. The legal limit is .08.
Francis told troopers he was rushing to get to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where he was supposed to be at 6 a.m., when the crash happened, the warrant states.
A Broward County judge issued the warrant for Francis’ arrest on driving under the influence/manslaughter charges, as well as driving without a license in a crash that caused death, on Nov. 19, 2024, but he was no longer in South Florida.
New York City Police officers stopped him for speeding last month in the Bronx, where, again, his only identification was his passport, according to court records. The NYPD cops also saw that he had an exradistion warrant from Broward County.
He was booked into county jail to be held without bond Tuesday. But he is no longer there, according to online jail records. Local 10 reported that Francis was also placed on an immigration hold when he was arrested.
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