Cy Vance Files Felony Charges for Beekman Street Sidewalk Hit-and-Run

4:01 PM EDT on May 21, 2015

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has filed felony charges against a woman accused of driving onto a downtown sidewalk, striking a pedestrian, and leaving the scene.

Heather Hensl was walking on Beekman Street near William Street on April 13 when a motorist struck her, knocking her to the ground, lacerating her head and fracturing her leg. The driver did not stop.

Video showed the driver “backing up several times in order to be able to make the turn onto the sidewalk and head west past a traffic jam” prior to the collision, according to Downtown Express. DNAinfo reported that the driver barely missed hitting other people, including children, who were able to get out of her path. The crash occurred near Spruce Street School, where, according to parents who have kids there, it’s not unusual for motorists to use the sidewalk to drive around traffic.

Police said the same car was involved in a second hit-and-run crash, involving a pedestrian in Brooklyn, shortly after Hensl was hit.

Earlier this month, Hensl said NYPD was prepared to close the case without filing charges because the woman identified as the vehicle's owner lives in New Jersey. Police also said they were unable to find a witness who saw the driver through the vehicle’s tinted windows.

But on Wednesday the alleged driver, Tiffany Murdaugh, appeared in New York Criminal Court on multiple charges, according to Downtown Express and court records. Vance charged Murdaugh with assault, reckless endangerment, and leaving the scene of an accident, court records say. Assault and reckless endangerment are both class D felonies, with penalties ranging from probation to seven years in prison.

From Downtown Express:

According to the complaint, on Tuesday evening at the First Precinct, Murdaugh was shown video of the incident and identified the 2013 white Dodge Challenger in it as her vehicle. She also told police that “she had taken the Holland Tunnel into Manhattan that morning and that no one else had driven her vehicle that day,” according to the complaint.
“I’m very relieved,” said Hensl in a phone interview. “I’m glad that she is in jail right now and not on the street.”
Hensl said the assistant district attorney who called her felt confident in the case and she will testify before the grand jury.

It's not out of the ordinary for a New York City district attorney to file charges against a suspected hit-and-run driver, but felony charges are relatively uncommon. Even less typical is a D-level felony charge (homicide, for example, is a class E felony in New York State -- a less serious charge than assault), particularly for a crash that did not result in death.

This is the third case in recent memory in which Vance has pursued felony charges following a pedestrian-involved hit-and-run crash. Vance charged the drivers accused in the deaths of Robert Perry and Charity Hicks with manslaughter, a class C felony. Both cases are in progress.

Murdaugh was held on $5,000 bond, according to court records. Her next court appearance is scheduled for tomorrow.

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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