Hynes: No Charges for Curb-Jumper Who Blew Red and Killed Pedestrian

1:58 PM EDT on May 13, 2013

A Sheepshead Bay driver who ran a red light, jumped a curb and struck three people, killing one, has not been charged criminally by NYPD or Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

The mother and fiancé of Yuliya Hermanska. Photo: Daily News

Yuliya Hermanska, 27, died from her injuries a week after the March 23 crash, according to the Daily News.

Police say the driver, Mikhail Nulman, was issued a summons for blowing through the red light at Ocean and Voorhies Aves. He swerved to avoid a collision with a turning car but lost control and mounted the curb, driving nearly 70 feet on the sidewalk and striking Hermanska and two teenage girls, both of whom survived, according to police accounts.

NYPD and a Hynes spokesperson told the Daily News that the case remains open. But despite the allegation that Nulman ran a red, and evidence that speed was a factor in the crash, Hermanska's family and their attorney believe Nulman will not be charged for her death.

"He's going to walk away," said Vitaly Obodovsky, Hermanska's fiancé. "Where’s the justice then? People go to jail for just being drunk behind the wheel and here they killed her."

Edward Steinberg, a lawyer representing the victim's family, said the case is a too-common example of a vehicular fatality involving an out-of-control driver that prosecutors fail to act on because neither alcohol nor drugs was involved.

To Steinberg's point, this crash occurred a month after Martha Atwater was killed by a curb-jumping motorist in Cobble Hill, and a week before toddler Denim McLean and nine others were hit by a driver at a bus stop in East Flatbush. At least six people in NYC have been fatally struck on sidewalks, in green spaces, and inside places of business in 2013, according to crash data compiled by Streetsblog. In addition to the three victims in Brooklyn, one person was killed in the Bronx, one in Queens, and one in Manhattan.

No charges are known to have been filed against any of the drivers in these crashes.

This fatal crash occurred in the 61st Precinct. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Captain John M. Chell, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 61st Precinct council meetings happen at 7:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month at 3093 Ocean Avenue. Call 718-627-6847 for information.

The City Council district where Yuliya Hermanska was killed is represented by Michael Nelson. To encourage Nelson to take action to improve street safety in his district and citywide, contact him at 718-368-9176 or MNelson1@council.nyc.gov.

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.

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