A New York man lost control of his car on the Gowanus Expressway, and hit the lane barrier. His car burst into flames. That’s terrible but it’s not the shocking part. The man who has been identified as 23 year old Saeed Ahmed, escaped the wreckage and hailed a cab while his date,  25 year old Harleen Grewell, burned with the car.

A woman’s body was found in a car after a fiery crash on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn Friday morning, and authorities say the driver — believed to be a man she was dating — hailed a cab in the middle of the highway while she burned to death.

Ahmed at one point can be heard asking the cabbie, “Can I get a ride?”

At the risk of being accused of racial profiling, I’m thinking that Saeed Ahmed is probably in the country illegally and tried to flee the scene before the cops showed up. Another possibility is that he’s a radical islamist or some other form of sociopath who sees nothing wrong with flagging down a ride while his girlfriend gets reduced to ash. Maybe it was a botched attempt at covering up a murder.

Whatever the reasons for this bizarre behavior, it didn’t work out for Ahmed. He was later busted when he showed up at the hospital to have his burns treated.

Ahmed is now charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident, aggravated unlicensed operator and speeding.

It’s Ted Kennedy-esque, except for the part where the perpetrator got charged.