SI Motorist Who Killed Maria Serrano Pled Guilty to Violating Victim’s Right of Way

The motorist who killed 50-year-old Maria Serrano in a Staten Island crosswalk pled guilty to violating her right of way. The victim’s estate is also pursuing a claim in civil court.

Serrano was crossing Richmond Road at Amboy Road with her dog on the morning of May 28, 2016, when Luigi Tucci hit her with a Toyota pickup truck while turning left onto Richmond, according to reports published after the crash.

A witness told the Staten Island Advance Tucci hit Serrano with such force that she was “catapulted into the air.” She sustained head and bodily injuries and died a day later.

Serrano’s dog, Oscar, went missing from the scene. He was found unharmed a few days after the crash.

Police charged Tucci, then 71, with misdemeanor failure to yield and careless driving, which is a traffic infraction. According to the Advance, Tucci pled guilty to both counts.

Tucci was sentenced to participate in a victim impact panel and complete a driving course. The misdemeanor count was subsequently reduced to a disorderly conduct violation, the Advance reported. Tucci was fined $250.

Motorists have injured five other people walking at Richmond Road and Amboy Road since 2009, according to City Hall’s crash data map. Twenty-two motor vehicle occupants were hurt in crashes at Richmond and Amboy during that time frame.

Serrano’s estate has filed a civil suit against Tucci and the company that owned the truck he was driving. From the Advance:

The civil complaint alleges the occurrence was caused by the defendants’ “negligence, carelessness, and recklessness” in the operation and ownership of the vehicle.

The complaint further contends Tucci negligently proceeded through the intersection while Serrano was crossing, and turned left “when it was unsafe to do so.”