‘She couldn’t wait to see the baby born,’ family says – New York Daily News

A passenger killed in a booze-fueled Staten Island crash was looking forward to giving birth to her first child with the driver — who is now charged with manslaughter.

Adriana Sylmetaj and boyfriend Adem Nikeziq were expecting their little girl’s birth in April — but about 4:45 a.m. Saturday the soon-to-be dad’s drunken driving cut that future short, according to authorities.

Nikeziq, 30, slammed into a barrier wall and utility pole on Hylan Blvd. near Rose Ave. in New Dorp., ripping his white Dodge sedan into three pieces and launching the 23-year-old Sylmetaj from the passenger seat, cops said. She died on the scene.

“She was excited when she learned she was going to be a mother. It was something new to her. She couldn’t wait to see the baby born,” her brother, Al Sylmetaj, told the Daily News. “They were thinking on names but I don’t think they came to any decision…. They were planning on a baby shower.”

Nikeziq, 30, of Great Kills, suffered only minor injures. Medics took him to Staten Island University Hospital North in stable condition. He’s charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, driving while intoxicated and assault.

He was still hospitalized Sunday and awaits arraignment in Staten Island Criminal Court.

Nikeziq has a checkered driving history, including a 2017 arrest for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license, police sources said. In 2019, he was arrested for driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest. The disposition of those cases weren’t immediately clear.

Sylmetaj’s brother said the boyfriend struck him as untrustworthy and appeared to be regularly at least mildly intoxicated as he dealt with the grief of recently losing his father.

“I had this feeling the outcome was going to be this way,” Al Sylmetaj said. “Every time he presented himself, he was under the influence — not that he was uncontrollable, but how he articulated himself.”

“He would always ask if I wanted to go have a drink,” he added. “My birthday just passed and he was inviting me to go out to have a drink but I just said no thank you.”

His sister worked as a veterinary technician but was taking time off to prepare for motherhood.

“She was perfect. That’s it. There’s nothing you can say. It’s just a f—ed up way to die,” said one friend, who didn’t give his name. “She didn’t deserve that and neither did the baby … There’s nothing I can say that can fix that and there’s nothing I can say that can change that.”

Relatives gathered to mourn at the family’s home in Dongan Hills Sunday, embracing, crying and trying to console the victim’s distraught mother.

Al Sylmetaj said his sister moved out a while back to live with her boyfriend. She started bringing him around to meet relatives about two years ago.

“She loved life, man, always happy, always outgoing,” Al Sylmetaj said. “The family was all expecting the baby. My two kids — I have a 5 year old and 6 year old and to have another baby around, we were expecting it and looking forward to it.”

Relatives are still trying to piece together the details of the crash, he said.

“It’s tough man,” the brother said. “I still think it’s like I’m going to wake up out of this thing. Like I just can’t believe it. It didn’t settle in yet.”

Nikeziq didn’t seem as enthusiastic about becoming a parent, Al Sylmetaj said.

“I don’t think he was ready to have a kid. I didn’t see it. Like he wasn’t prepared for it,” he said. “You know when you are a father expecting to be … He wouldn’t get behind the wheel intoxicated like that. You got to think a little.”

His family also noticed something off about Nikeziq, like he put on a front to manipulate them, or get them to like him.

“I couldn’t really put my finger on it. I didn’t know if I should be worried and I was leaning towards more of the worried side,” the brother said. “When she says she’s happy, she loves him, I took her word for it and I was like, all right. I would check up on her to make sure if she’s all right and OK.”

“Maybe it just wasn’t a mutual thing,” he added. “Like she loved him more than he loved her. It just didn’t feel reciprocated.”

With Rebecca White