The motorist accused of fatally striking a Brooklyn pedestrian while driving drunk this weekend will be charged with manslaughter, Streetsblog has learned.
At around 12:34 a.m. Sunday, William Boney, 49, was crossing Atlantic Avenue at Troy Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant when he was struck by a Lincoln Navigator driven by Carmelo Galloway, 39, according to reports. Boney was declared dead on arrival at Kings County Hospital.
One person who saw the crash said Galloway was accelerating through the intersection to beat the light. Police said he continued driving until stopped by witnesses. From the Daily News:
"The man just came out of this lounge and was crossing the street and the car ran a red light," said the eyewitness, Donna Roseboro, 48. "He picked up speed. He was trying to make the light and he hit him as the man crossed the street."
Roseboro said she ran over to try to help the victim, whose contorted body lay in Atlantic Ave., but it was too late.
"His body was all twisted up. He was just laying there," she said. "He had his eyes open but he wasn't moving. He did that last gasp for breath and he was gone."
Initial coverage indicated that Galloway was charged only with DWI. A charge of second degree vehicular manslaughter is forthcoming, according to the office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.
William Boney was the 49th pedestrian or cyclist known killed in New York City traffic this year.
