Eric Gonzalez: Six Months in Jail for Unlicensed, Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Francis Perez

Pursuant to the deal with Gonzalez, the acting Brooklyn DA, Brian Young can get his license back in two years just by filling out DMV paperwork.

By Brad Aaron
May 25, 2017

Young served five months in jail and was fined $2,000 for killing Francis Perez and leaving the scene. Image: News 12

For the second time in weeks, Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez agreed to a plea deal that resulted in a lenient sentence for a motorist who killed someone walking and left the scene.

Brian Young hit 28-year-old Francis Perez on Avenue V in Sheepshead Bay on September 23, 2016. Perez, who lived and worked near the site of the crash, was carrying snacks for his 8-year-old son when Young slammed a Toyota SUV into him and kept going.

“He just went to the store to buy some sodas and Snickers,” Perez’s girlfriend Sandra Mcillwain told the Daily News. “Something fell from his hand and he went to pick it up and he went flying.”

“He had the biggest heart,” Mcillwain said.

Young, then 47, was arrested a few days after the crash. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and third degree aggravated unlicensed operation. He pled guilty to both charges in March. Young was not charged for the act of killing Perez.

Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a class D felony that carries penalties ranging from probation to seven years in prison. Third degree aggravated unlicensed operation is an unclassified misdemeanor. Yesterday, Young was sentenced to six months in jail, five years probation, and a $2,000 fine, plus $158 in fees.

Francis Perez and Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez

Young, who was driving without a valid license when he killed Perez, had his license suspended for two years. After the suspension period is up, all he has to do to have his driving privileges restored is complete some DMV paperwork and pay the attendant fees. Had his license been revoked, it would have given the DMV discretion as to whether Young could drive legally again.

According to court records, Young was in jail for five months following his arrest. He was released in March and received credit for time served. The Brooklyn DA’s office could not explain why Young served just five months of his six month sentence, but suggested the Department of Correction might have given him credit for good behavior.

Last month, Gonzalez agreed to probation and a $500 fine for Joseph Zayats. In October 2016, Zayats fatally struck Krystyna Iwanowicz, a disabled 64-year-old who used a walker, then ran away from the scene on foot.