UPDATE: The victim’s sister vows to keep her memory alive for young daughter.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A fiery crash in Brooklyn led to the death of a young Staten Island woman and manslaughter charges against the driver of one of the cars involved in the collision, police said.

Shanti Joyner of Port Richmond died after the 2019 Honda Accord she was a passenger in was struck by a Mercedes-Benz, then careened into a tree in the early hours of Friday morning at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street, according to a statement from the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

The NYPD released Joyner’s age as 18, but a relative who answered the door at her home said she was 21.

The driver of the Honda was Joyner’s 32-year-old sister, Iesha, who lives at the same address as the victim; a 29-year-old man was riding in the back seat, according to multiple sources.

Kashawn Croswell, 25, of Vandalia Avenue in Brooklyn, allegedly was behind the wheel of the 2014 Mercedes Benz S550 that struck the Honda. Croswell has been charged by police with manslaughter for recklessly causing death, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Iesha remained in the hospital after initially being taken into custody. A source with the district attorney’s office in Brooklyn was unable to immediately provide any information about whether she would be prosecuted in connection with the crash.

Officers responded around 3:25 a.m. to the scene where they found Shanti Joyner unconscious and unresponsive in the front-passenger seat of the Honda. She suffered from body trauma and was taken by EMS to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where she died, according to the police statement.

Iesha Joyner, the 29-year-old man who was riding in a rear-passenger seat of the Honda and a 24-year-old woman who was a front-seat passenger in the Mercedes-Benz all were transported in stable condition to the same hospital, police said.

The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined the Mercedes-Benz driven by Croswell was traveling southbound on Court Street when it entered the intersection at Atlantic Avenue, according to the police statement.

The Mercedes then struck the Honda in the intersection, causing the car the Joyers and the 29-year-old man were traveling in to spin and strike a tree, police said.

The Mercedes-Benz caught fire, and Croswell initially fled the location before being apprehended a short distance from the crash, police said.

The police investigation continues.

Croswell has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held at Rikers Island in lieu of bail set at $750,000/$250,000 cash. He is due back in Criminal Court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, according to public records.

An attorney for Croswell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A ‘LOVING’ PERSON

Neighbors, friends and family members are mourning and expressing an outpouring of love in memory of Shanti Joyner.

Akeelah Hall remembered her older sister as a “loving person,” who embraced motherhood with grace.

“She had a 1-year-old daughter,” Hall said. “She was trying to make as much money as she could for her birthday party, because she’s turning 2 soon.”

Joyner was “fun,” and living her best life, Hall told the Advance/SILive.com.

“Always liked to sing,” reflected Hall. “She also wanted to be a nurse, she was getting ready for nursing school.”

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