YouTuber known for drag race videos crashes speeding BMW and dies

NEW YORK: A car influencer who posted YouTube videos of drag races on New York City streets died when he crashed his speeding BMW into a light pole near John F. Kennedy airport, police said.

Andre Beadle, 25, crashed just after 1am on Nov 6 on the Nassau Expressway near the airport, the NYPD said in a news release. Beadle was thrown from the car in front of a small crowd of horrified spectators.

Beadle, who lived in the Bronx and was known on social media as 1Stockf30, had 240,000 followers on Instagram and 59,000 on YouTube. He had posted videos of himself racing his purple BMW M240 on city streets and at a racing track in Pennsylvania.

In one nighttime video, a group of men is seen blocking off traffic on a city highway and then slicking the roadway to prepare for the race.

Fans posted tributes after Beadle's death. "Rest easy,” one Instagram poster said. "You did great things for the street and drag racing scene. Forever a legend.” Others criticised him for failing to take safety seriously.

Police said the crash was under investigation.