The Dominican community in the United States and the Dominican Republic is in mourning following the death of Arturo Baez Cordero, 34, son of renowned filmmaker Fernando Alberto Baez and singer Maria Cordero.
The young man died Sunday night in a traffic accident in the Gowanus area of Brooklyn, in circumstances that have caused commotion due to their similarity to the accident in which his father lost his life seven years ago.
According to the official NYPD report, the crash occurred around 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 9th Street. A Honda Odyssey minivan, traveling at high speed on 2nd Avenue, struck a Mercedes Benz crossing 9th Street.
The blow pushed the Mercedes into a third vehicle, a Dodge, causing a loud bang and an almost immediate fire.
Arturo Baez, who was driving the Mercedes, was trapped in the car. FDNY firefighters managed to rescue him from the flames and transported him in critical condition to a nearby hospital. However, due to the severity of his injuries, he died shortly after his admission.
Videos captured by witnesses show emergency crews trying to put out the fire while people on the scene desperately shouted, “It’s on fire!”.
Victims and responsible parties in the accident where Arturo Baez died
Three people were traveling in the Honda Odyssey. A 38-year-old woman remains in critical condition, while two other passengers were injured but are reported to be stable. The driver of the Dodge involved is also out of danger.
The person primarily responsible for the accident was identified as Alexey Ivanov, a 38-year-old Brooklyn resident. He was arrested hours later and faces multiple charges: involuntary manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, assault, reckless driving and disobeying a traffic signal. The investigation remains open while the prosecution determines final responsibilities.
Arturo’s tragedy has touched very sensitive fibers due to the coincidence with the death of his father, Dominican filmmaker Fernando Baez, which occurred in July 2018 on the Duarte Highway, Dominican Republic. On that occasion, the vehicle in which he was traveling collided with a cow, lost control and fell into the Yuna River, causing his death at the age of 61.
Fernando Báez was a pioneer of documentary filmmaking in his country. He was the founder of Unicornio Films, directed the renowned film Muerte por mil cortes and dedicated much of his work to the defense of the environment through cinematographic art. His cultural and environmental legacy is widely remembered in Latin America.
The news of the death of Arturo Baez Cordero has generated consternation among family, friends and colleagues in the cultural field. Several film and music personalities in the Dominican Republic have expressed messages of support to the Baez Cordero family, underlining the hardship of facing a tragedy so similar to the one that occurred years ago.
For the Dominican diaspora in New York, the loss of Arturo represents not only the death of a young man with roots in art and culture, but also a reminder of the impact that road violence continues to have in large cities.
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