Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
District Attorneys

Richard Brown: Probation for Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Kamil Gorski

The hit-and-run driver who killed Kamil Gorski got probation and $1,088 in fines and fees after DA Richard Brown dropped felony charges and allowed a misdemeanor plea deal.
The hit-and-run driver who killed Kamil Gorski got probation and $1,088 in fines and fees after DA Richard Brown dropped felony charges for a misdemeanor plea deal.
The hit-and-run driver who killed Kamil Gorski got probation and $1,088 in fines and fees after DA Richard Brown dropped felony charges and allowed a misdemeanor plea deal.

A driver charged with a felony for the hit-and-run death of a Queens pedestrian was sentenced to probation as a result of a plea deal from District Attorney Richard Brown.

Raul Reyes and a second driver hit 36-year-old Navy veteran Kamil Gorski on Metropolitan Avenue on February 3, 2015, according to Brown's office. Gorski died at Elmhurst Hospital.

Brown did not charge the second driver, who remained at the scene. Brown charged Reyes with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury, which is a class D felony, and issued a press release saying Reyes "face[d] up to four years in prison." Last December, however, Brown reduced the charges, and allowed Reyes to plead to a misdemeanor leaving the scene, which carries a maximum one-year jail sentence.

This week, pursuant to his plea agreement with DA Brown, Reyes was sentenced to three years probation, a $1,000 fine, and $88 in administrative fees for leaving Kamil Gorski to die in the street, according to court records. There is no indication that the court took action against Reyes's driver's license.

As Streetsblog reported last month, Gorski is one of several Queens hit-and-run victims whose killers avoided a sentence that included jail time, either because Brown accepted a plea or filed no charges in the first place.

If New York City hopes to get a handle on its hit-and-run epidemic, which results in thousands of injuries and deaths annually, district attorneys will have to send a message that such crimes will not be tolerated. Based on his record of prosecuting traffic violence over the last year, Brown earned a middling C+ in the Transportation Alternatives 2015 Vision Zero Report Card, which said the DA "seems uninterested in protecting the lives of constituents."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘Trojan Horse’: E-Bike Licensing Bill Would Fuel Anti-Immigrant Policing

Council members fail to address the e-bike registration bill's potential harmful outcomes.

December 10, 2024

‘Not Fleshed Out’: Paladino’s E-Bike Ban Falls Flat at Manhattan Civic Panel

A Queens Republican's latest bid to squelch e-bike use fails at Community Board 2.

December 10, 2024

Tuesday’s Headlines: BQE Lies Edition

An anti-congestion pricing group says traffic on the BQE has increased — though the city says the opposite. Plus other news.

December 10, 2024

How Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans Could Make U.S. Roads More Dangerous

President-elect Trump's promise to deport one million people per year will make America's streets less safe.

December 10, 2024

Cycle of Rage: Here’s Why Your Dead Christmas Tree Should Be in the Road, Not on the Sidewalk

The opposite of a heartwarming holiday story? It's the story of Barbara Hutson, who suffered two broken arms after she tripped on some Christmas trees that should have been in the road.

December 9, 2024
See all posts