DA Ken Thompson: Charges for Punching Driver, No Charges for Killing Child

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson is prosecuting the man accused of punching the driver who killed 8-year-old Jadann Williams in Flatbush, but Thompson filed no charges against the driver.

Jadann was playing with a group of kids on E. 22nd Street on the afternoon of August 26 when a man identified by the Daily News as Reginald Auguste hit her with an SUV. Jadann suffered head trauma and died at Kings County Hospital.

East 22nd Street north of Ditmas Avenue, where the crash occurred, is a narrow, two-way cul-de-sac lined with apartments. The News said Auguste “lived on the block and was known for having a lead foot.” A witness said he “tried to press the brake, but went 15 to 20 feet before he stopped,” an indication that Jadann might be alive today if Auguste had been driving slower.

“The guy was a known speeder,” another witness told the News. “You know the children are present. You have to drive at a decent speed.”

While NYPD let Auguste go, police arrested Ryan Romans, who knew Jadann and witnessed the crash, for allegedly punching Auguste in the face.

NYPD and Thompson filed a number of charges against Romans, including misdemeanor assault, misdemeanor attempted assault, misdemeanor menacing, and harassment, according to court records. The top count against Romans is the assault charge, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

Romans was released without bail after his arrest. His next court date is in October.

Meanwhile, Thompson’s office confirmed the DA has not filed charges against the man who killed cyclist Alejandro Moran-Marin and injured several other people when he careened through several blocks of Fourth Avenue in July. Published accounts said driver Claudio Rodriguez told police he had a seizure because he didn’t take his medication. A similar case in Manhattan resulted in a murder conviction in 2009.

A Thompson spokesperson said the investigation into the crash that killed Moran-Marin is “ongoing.”