Court Document Details Aftermath of Crash That Killed Victor Felix

By Brad Aaron
Apr 20, 2012

The driver who allegedly struck and killed pedestrian Victor Felix had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit for driving and showed signs of intoxication three hours after the crash, according to a court document.

Felix, 57, was crossing Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard near W. 146th Street in Harlem when he was struck at approximately 8:28 p.m. Sunday. The criminal court complaint says that Garry Kinloch, 48, was found by police “sitting on the curb next to an Acura MDX SUV … with front end damage including a dented front fender and broken front windshield,” with “an unconscious man … lying nearby in the street.”

felixscene — A witness said Victor Felix was struck with such force that he was thrown 15 feet into the air. Photo: Post

The report says Kinloch told an officer: “I’m sorry. I had the green light. He just came out of nowhere. I didn’t see him.”

The Post quoted a witness who described the crash:

“All of the sudden, he just walked into the street,” said Richard Gomez, 29, a friend of the victim. “He didn’t wait for the light.”

Gomez said Felix was struck with so much force that “he went 15 feet straight up.”

At around 9:30 p.m., an NYPD Highway Patrol officer administered a portable breath test. Test results indicated that Kinloch had a blood alcohol content of .089, the complaint says. The legal limit for driving in New York State (not for walking, as many city reporters and editors seem to believe) is .08.

At approximately 11:27 p.m., a second officer administered a second breath test, which according to the complaint detected a blood alcohol content of .059 percent. The complaint says that at the time of the second test the administering officer “detected a slight odor of an alcoholic beverage on the defendant’s breath,” and that “the defendant at times appeared unsteady on his feet during coordination tests and at times failed to follow instructions during coordination tests.”

Kinloch, whom the Post identified as a maintenance worker for NYPD, was charged with DWI and driving while ability impaired. According to an online court database, his next court date is today. As of this writing Kinloch faces no charges for the death of Victor Felix.