The fast and the unprosecutable

 

 NY Daily News

It’s a cat and mouse game — but the mice drive too fast and recklessly and are not always held accountable, even when cops nab them.

“You can’t catch me. You’re stupid,” driver Oscar Malik, 28, allegedly taunted out-of-earshot cops in a police cruiser who spotted him as he roared on the Long Island Expressway in March 2021 at a speed police believe hit 117 mph.

They did catch him, but off the road. Police traced and arrested Malik with help from the Instagram feed that recorded his high-speed drive — which officers downloaded before he deleted his account.

Malik got the last laugh in August, when the charges against him were dismissed and his case was sealed because Queens prosecutors didn’t hand over evidence to his defense lawyer in accord with the state’s discovery reform law, said law enforcement sources. The Queens DA’s office did not comment on the matter.

“This is very disheartening,” said Insp. Sylvester Ge, head of the NYPD’s Highway Division. “And it’s an injustice.”

It was another blow to the NYPD’s unceasing race against organized reckless driving, which takes several forms —ranging from highway drag races to impromptu gatherings where drivers spin donuts at intersections, parking lots or traffic plazas.

There’s no data on how many people die from such driving, though it’s clear speeding — an element of drag racing — is a factor in numerous roadway deaths. Speeding factored in 31 of of 159 New York City traffic deaths in 2022 for which data is available — a rate of 21%.

A notorious death case involving drag racing occurred Nov. 20, 2020, when Daniel Crawford, 53, died on his way at Queens Hospital Center, where he worked as a phlebotomist. Crawford’s car was T-boned by one of two drivers drag racing each other.

Both drivers believed involved in the race that killed Crawford were indicted in February. Alamin Ahmed and Mir Fahmid, both 24, face murder and manslaughter charges. Prosecutors said the duo, out celebrating Fahmid’s birthday, were seen on video getting gas at a service station at Main St. and Union Turnpike, then drag racing down the turnpike. Their cases are pending.

Drag races and other gatherings are often organized on the internet. “Some of it is posted on social media — they talk about it beforehand, what they plan to do, which helps us,” Ge said. “And they post videos afterwards. So, some of it is organized, with rules, like no brakes allowed.

“Or it’s two drivers who see each other on the highway — one starts going and the other one decides, ‘Let’s have a race,’” Ge added. “They really have no regard for public safety.”

Recidvist criminal who killed beloved Ozone Park woman with a luxury car is caught and convicted

Queens Chronicle 

After a nine-month investigation, the suspected driver who allegedly fled the scene after killing Indo-Caribbean vocalist and Ozone Park resident Ritawantee “Rita” Persaud in a hit-and-run that shook the Queens Hindu community has been charged.

Police announced that they had arrested 23-year-old Cypress Hills resident Jason Liriano, a reputed gang member with a long list of prior charges on his record, last Thursday in connection with the incident.

On Sunday, Assembymember Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven) organized a press conference with District Attorney Melinda Katz and various other civic and religious leaders to honor Persaud and publicize the news of the case, which had drawn rallies from advocates demanding the NYPD’s attention last winter.

“Thank you to the police for being an ally of the Indo-American community for working with us, protecting us, informing us. I am grateful for the strong relationship the NYPD has with our South Asian and Indo-Caribbean community,” Rajkumar said.

That same day, members of Persaud’s family and religious community held a separate vigil in Richmond Hill. When several members of her Hindu temple, Shanti Bhavan Mandir, arrived at the press conference, they raised some outstanding questions they had about the case that had not been answered publicly yet.

“I feel there should be more said about who the other occupants of that vehicle were,” said a woman who identified herself as a member of Persaud’s religious community. “I don’t think we know the full story.”

Persaud, 54, was taking an Uber ride in a black Toyota Camry last Christmas Eve when her vehicle was hit by a man with a passenger driving a Lamborghini SUV at Rockaway Boulevard and 103rd Avenue at approximately 7:05 p.m.

The Lamborghini driver fled the scene on foot.

Though his passenger remained at the crash site, and the NYPD later confirmed it was able to track down surveillance footage of the scene in December, the police were not able to make an immediate arrest under persistent pressure from elected officials, religious leaders and Indo-Caribbean advocates.

 

 

Bike zealot puts his baby in front of parked vehicle to decry reckless driving

Look at this, @NYCMayor: My child isn't safe crossing #deBlasiosStreets.

No more statements. No more task forces. We need concrete action NOW to restore the promise of #VisionZero. pic.twitter.com/9H61AQX2bw

— Erik Weber (@vebah) September 13, 2021

Impatient woman crashes her car into open restaurant shanty and kills a scooter rider

 

PIX News

 A man was was killed and a woman was injured in Queens when a speeding car struck a moped and multiple parked vehicles before crashing into an outdoor dining space Thursday night, police said.

Officials said it happened at Rosatoro Restaurant, near 35th Street and Ditmars Boulevard, around 7:45 p.m.

According to police, a woman, 60, behind the wheel of a Mercedes Benz C-300 was speeding northbound on 35th Street when she struck a man on a Yamaha Chappy moped.

The car kept going and struck two unoccupied vehicles parked along the east side of 35th Street, officials said.

Soon after, the Mercedes crashed into the outdoor dining structure at Rosatoro, where it came to a rest within the structure, police said.

Responding officers found the moped driver, 37, unconscious and unresponsive, laying in the road with visible trauma, the NYPD said.

He was rushed to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officials identified the victim Friday morning as Xing Lin of Queens.

Police said a woman, 32, was also found at the scene with injuries to both legs. She was also hospitalized for treatment.

Reckless driver who killed Ozone Park woman on Christmas Day is still on the loose

  

Queens Chronicle

Elected officials, religious leaders and Ozone Park residents gathered outside the 102nd Precinct in Ozone Park last Saturday, over a week after a hit-and-run killed Indo-Caribbean vocalist Ritawantee “Rita” Persaud, to demand that the NYPD find the driver who fled the scene of accident.

“This person’s recklessness caused the death of our dear Auntie Rita and there hasn’t been an arrest since. So today we’re asking to pool all our resources, all our energies to endure that this doesn’t end up being a cold case,” organizer Aminta Kilawan-Narine said at the rally.

Persaud, 54, was taking an Uber ride in a black Toyota Camry Dec. 24 when the 50-year-old driver of the vehicle was hit by a man driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV carrying a passenger from the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Uber driver, the Lamborghini passenger and Persaud were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where the former two were listed in stable condition and Persaud was declared dead. The Lamborghini driver fled the scene on foot.

The Hindu community in Queens has been shaken by the death of Persaud, who became well-known in New York and Guyana for singing devotional music at various mandirs in New York and her work teaching her art form to young people.

The rally reflected Persaud’s religious passion. The Pandit Manoj Jadubans, the leader of Persaud’s house of worship, Shaanti Bhavan Mandir in Jamaica, led the crowd in a prayer near the beginning of the event.

“We are obviously saddened and hurt and broken but we still have a strong resolve to ensure there’s justice for her — that senseless death and lack of compassion by running away — that’s not a society and ideals we grew up in,” said Persaud’s cousin, speaking on behalf of her family.

Slow down, ZWEET, your neighbors

 
I hope the attached video comes through to you. Here in Flushing and Bayside this guy speeds through the streets like our neighborhood is his own personal speedway. His car is LOUD. He's a menace to our quiet neighborhoods. It's a growing trend. 
 

Unlicensed drivers may soon face criminal charges

From the Times Ledger:

A rash of pedestrians fatally struck by unlicensed drivers has prompted the Queens leadership to ban together to pass legislation that would make such an act a felony and result in two to four years of jail time.

An Elmhurst woman was the latest victim, run down by a white Mitsubishi box truck allegedly operated by an unlicensed driver, while she was walking in the intersection of Woodside Avenue and 76th Street, police said.

“Unfortunately, the law in New York has not caught up with the facts of these situations,” said state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who has written the bill. “Someone who kills someone when driving without a license... the most severe charge they can get is a violation, which is like getting a parking ticket.”

Outraged by the frequency of these types of incidents and the penalties offenders receive, several officials and advocates for safer streets rallied behind Gianaris’ legislative push at a news conference Tuesday in Woodside.

“It’s time that we say give us the keys to your car,” said state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing), “If you smoke a cigarette, the chances of you getting lung cancer are increased. [It’s] the same way if you’re an unlicensed driver. You have a high risk of hitting somebody, [possibly] injuring or killing them.”

Drivers with revoked and or suspended licenses who have caused a loss of life would get more than a slap on the wrist under the proposed legislation.

Nowhere to ride

From the NY Times:

The outcry has become even more pitched since Sept. 29, when a pack of motorcyclists was involved in an altercation on the Henry Hudson Parkway with a man driving an S.U.V. The police said some of the motorcyclists pulled the driver from his vehicle and beat him. One motorcyclist was hospitalized, and this month 11 men, including an undercover police officer, were indicted in connection with the attack; all but one were charged with gang assault. And while helmet-cam videos do not show dirt bikers in that melee, bikers say the authorities are intent on shutting down their urban sport.

Back in Harlem, they unloaded the bikes and rode off into the streets. Fire trucks and police cruisers showed up almost instantly. It is illegal to ride a dirt bike on New York City streets.

“This is why we rip and run in the streets,” Joseph Middleton, 31, a biker from Harlem, said. “There really is nowhere to ride.”

So far this year in the city, there have been at least 437 motorcyclist and dirt biker arrests: nearly 200 for reckless endangerment or reckless driving, and 5,498 summonses for license plate violations and other infractions. Joseph A. McCormack, the chief of vehicular crimes at the Bronx district attorney’s office, said prosecutors there had seen a sharp rise in the number of cases involving dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles in recent years. There were more than 200 cases — including reckless driving, vehicle violations and, in a few instances, striking pedestrians — this summer alone.

Quinn pushes legislation to keep more illegals

From CBS New York:

New York City leaders are drafting legislation to limit the city’s participation in the federal Secure Communities program.

The program will give immigration officials access to fingerprints of undocumented immigrants in local jails, including those in New York City.

Along with other City Council members, Speaker Christine Quinn is proposing local measures to stop federal authorities from deporting immigrants Quinn and her colleagues define as posing no threat to the safety of the city.

“Under the new law, the city will be prohibited from honoring detainer requests from immigrants who are youthful offenders, immigrants who have no criminal record, immigrants who have been accused of low-level offenses, or convicted of certain misdemeanor offenses,” Quinn said Thursday.

Those offenses include loitering, prostitution, or driving without a license.

Yes, let's keep the hookers and people who can't drive. Great idea.

Traffic free-for-all in Sunnyside

Cars and trucks are knowingly riding the wrong way in Blissville...
Here's the news story.

And bicyclists are apparently doing the same in Sunnyside proper. From the Sunnyside Post:

The incident occurred at about 7pm, August 22, and witnesses claim the cyclist was riding the wrong way down 43rd Ave before he hit a moving car broadside.

Be careful out there, folks. Lots of dingbats on wheels.

Demolition derby in Astoria