Traffic Justice
Streetsblog Basics
Hynes Deal: Community Service for Firefighter in Deadly Hit-and-Run
A city firefighter who left a man to die on a Brooklyn street was sentenced to community service on Monday, the result of a plea deal with Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes.
April 3, 2012
Jusheem Thorne’s Hit-and-Run Killers Have Little to Fear
A 25-year-old man was brutally killed by two hit-and-run drivers in Crown Heights early Wednesday.
March 29, 2012
Lefevre Lawsuit Could Loosen NYPD Grip on Crash Information
The lawsuit filed by the family of Mathieu Lefevre against NYPD could change police procedure in the aftermath of fatal crashes, making it easier for grieving relatives to access crucial information.
March 27, 2012
No Charges for Alleged Drunken Hit-and-Run Death of Brooklyn Woman
Contrary to media reports, the Domino's Pizza delivery driver accused of killing pedestrian Margaret Myers in Brooklyn earlier this month is not facing charges for her death.
March 22, 2012
Bypassing Courts, NYPD Says Video Cleared Lefevre Hit-and-Run Driver
Court documents reveal that NYPD decided not to charge the hit-and-run driver who struck and killed Brooklyn cyclist Mathieu Lefevre based on video of the crash. While it's not clear how video footage can prove that the driver didn't know he had hit Lefevre, it was apparently sufficient evidence for the department's Accident Investigation Squad.
March 12, 2012
Husband Says NYPD Wrecked Case Against Driver Charged for Wife’s Death
Last week we reported how the botched NYPD investigation into the death of Brooklyn cyclist Stefanos Tsigrimanis was initially compromised due to a department policy that keeps the Accident Investigation Squad from working cases unless the victim is believed likely to die. When an emergency room doctor told police that Tsigrimanis was not fatally injured, AIS called off its investigation, and did not return to the scene for 46 days.
March 8, 2012
Is There Really a “Rule of Two”?
Conventional wisdom has it that in the state of New York a motorist must be breaking at least two traffic laws at the time of a crash to be charged with criminal negligence. As Nassau County ADA Maureen McCormick told Streetsblog: "It is believed that if a defendant commits two simultaneous traffic violations in the course of a collision, that automatically allows for a criminal charge because one violation would be considered 'ordinary' or civil negligence."
February 22, 2012
Driver Cleared By NYPD Found Negligent in Death of Cyclist Rasha Shamoon
A civil jury has found that a driver cleared of wrongdoing by NYPD was primarily responsible for the collision that killed a Manhattan cyclist in 2008.
February 14, 2012
Accused DWI Killer Gets Probation for Death of Six-Year-Old Zhaneya Butcher
A killer charged with the DWI manslaughter death of a six-year-old child walked out of court Tuesday without spending a day in jail.
February 2, 2012
Brooklyn DA’s Office Reviewing Mathieu Lefevre Hit-and-Run
The office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes will conduct a review into the death of cyclist Mathieu Lefevre, according to the borough's top prosecutor for vehicular crimes.
January 25, 2012