Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Traffic Justice

New Penalties for Reckless Drivers Now In Effect, But NYPD Isn’t Ready

By Stephen Miller | Aug 22, 2014 | 22 Comments

In May, the City Council passed a package of legislation to crack down on traffic violence. In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the bills. Today, one of the most important bills in that package goes into effect: Intro 238, also known as Section 19-190, creates a new criminal misdemeanor charge for reckless drivers. But […]

Will Cy Vance Fail to Prosecute Another Serious Midtown Curb-Jump Crash?

By Brad Aaron | Aug 7, 2014 | 15 Comments

New Yorkers have seen this before. On a beautiful summer day, a professional driver with a history of recklessness behind the wheel drives onto a crowded Midtown sidewalk, striking multiple people and causing serious injuries. The driver lays blame elsewhere, on factors he claims were beyond his control. Meanwhile, staff from Manhattan District Attorney Cy […]

DA Thompson Plea Deal: Serial Unlicensed Driver Fined $250 for Deadly Crash

By Brad Aaron | Aug 6, 2014 | 15 Comments

A serial unlicensed driver who killed a pedestrian will pay a few hundred dollars in fines pursuant to a plea deal with Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson. Two motorists hit 32-year-old Nicole Detweiler as she crossed McGuinness Boulevard at Nassau Avenue in the early evening hours of December 29, 2013. She died at the scene. According […]

15-Day Maximum Sentence for Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Bronx Senior

By Brad Aaron | Aug 1, 2014 | 12 Comments

An unlicensed driver who killed a pedestrian in the Bronx last year was charged with only a traffic infraction that carries a nominal fine and a maximum 15-day jail term. Nabaali Cletus hit 82-year-old Manuel Verdesoto with a Volvo as the senior crossed White Plains Road at Watson Avenue on the evening of May 15, 2013, according to […]

No Homicide Charge for Unlicensed Curb-Jumping Driver Who Killed SI Woman

By Brad Aaron | Jul 25, 2014 | 14 Comments

A motorist who crashed on a Staten Island sidewalk was charged by District Attorney Dan Donovan with driving without a license and drug possession, but not for killing one pedestrian and hospitalizing another. On the afternoon of June 9, a motorist jumped the curb and hit 31-year-old Christal Aliotta and her 20-year-old cousin Stephanie Canecchio as they walked […]

New York’s Top Court Exhibits Depraved Indifference to Pedestrians’ Lives

By Brad Aaron | Jul 23, 2014 | 40 Comments

In a decision that may hinder future prosecutions of killer drivers, New York’s highest court rejected the murder conviction of a car thief who fatally struck a Brooklyn pedestrian during a high-speed NYPD chase — ruling that the defendant showed concern for others’ safety by swerving around vehicles and people as he attempted to elude […]

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