A motorist who hit another vehicle, jumped the curb, struck a 90-year-old man and crashed into Saks Fifth Avenue was not driving recklessly, according to the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance.
Mansoor Day was taking his regular walk Wednesday morning when Richard Moussi, driving a Ford SUV with North Carolina plates, hit another vehicle, mounted the curb and struck the victim before hitting the building, according to reports.
The Daily News reports that Day, a well-known physician, is in critical condition with a broken neck, broken hip, and two broken legs.
Moussi was charged with having a fraudulent insurance card, according to the News and court records, but he was not charged for the crash, or for putting Dr. Day in the hospital. "Prosecutors said there was no evidence he was driving recklessly," the News reported.
"There are accepted methods of estimating pre-crash vehicle speed based on the nature of the impact, the height of the curb, and other factors," says attorney Steve Vaccaro. "Yes, a crash in and of itself is not evidence of reckless driving. But there is a lot more here than the mere fact of a crash. Was all the available evidence, including any eyewitness accounts, gathered and evaluated before prosecutors concluded that there was no evidence of recklessness?"
We asked Vance spokesperson Erin Duggan if it was determined whether Moussi was speeding or using a phone before the crash, but since he is facing a criminal charge, she said she could not discuss the case.
In 2012, 3,959 pedestrians and cyclists were wounded in Manhattan, and 41 were killed, according to NYPD. The majority of those crashes were not investigated by police, and none of the drivers involved in fatal crashes are known to have been charged for taking a life.
