One of the problems of hit-and-run accidents is that there often is no closure for the victims or their survivors. Because these negligent drivers leave the scenes of their accidents, the victims are unable to hold them either criminally or civilly responsible for their actions.
That might have been the case in Brooklyn, but police were recently able to arrest a hit-and-run driver who had no license and was allegedly impaired when he struck and killed a 32-year-old warehouse worker.
The events unfolded when the driver, 35, began swilling Coronas one Saturday evening. He admittedly drank around five beers before attempting to drive. His 2004 GMC Savannah van jumped the curb in Greenwood Heights near the intersection of 21st St. and Fourth Ave.
The van pinned the warehouse worker’s body against the building adjacent to where he was working an overtime shift. First responders transported the Staten Island man to Methodist Hospital where he succumbed to massive internal injuries.
The driver fled from the scene to his Bronx residence. When arrested several hours after the fatal wreck, the criminal complaint states that he still showed “signs of intoxication.”
He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, criminally negligent homicide, reckless operation and second-degree vehicular manslaughter.
The day after his arrest, he was arraigned in Brooklyn’s Criminal Court. The judge set his bail at $10,000.
If you or someone you love was the victim of a car accident caused by someone who leaves the scene, you can seek financial compensation from the insurance company of the at-fault driver if he or she is ever identified by police.
