The recidivist reckless driver who hit and killed a 3-month-old baby and gravely injured her mother in a wrong-way crash almost two years ago in Brooklyn was sentenced to nine years behind bars on Wednesday.
Supreme Court Judge Danny Chun handed down the ruling to Tyrik Mott, 30, who offered up a curt apology for racing against traffic up Gates Avenue on Sept. 11, 2021, when he plowed into another car and sent them both onto the sidewalk and in the path of baby Apolline Mong-Guillemin, who was killed; and her parents, Julien Mong, 36, and Marion Guillemin, 33, who was critically hurt.
“I wanna say that I’m so sorry for everything that I did. I’m sorry for all the hurt that I caused, and I really didn’t mean it," Mott said inside the courtroom on Wednesday next to his attorney, James Kirshner.
Mott's 2017 Honda Civic — with Pennsylvania plates — was caught on camera almost 100 times for speeding in school zones or going through red lights in the years before he fatally struck baby Apolline. Mott had initially been charged with carjacking and robbery, but Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez later added assault and manslaughter.
Mott's dangerous driving record in the weeks leading up to the fatal crash — including the day before — came months after he completed a 90-minute safety course for convicted vehicle offenders run by the Brooklyn Justice Initiative and Center for Court Innovation. The course features emotional testimonies from families who have lost loved ones to traffic violence.
Mott originally pleaded not guilty, but accepted a nine-year plea deal in March. Had the case gone to trial, the killer would have faced up to 25 years in prison for the top charge. Gonzalez’s office asked for 15 years, and Chun offered nine.
“This defendant’s reckless driving took the life of a precious young child, seriously injured her mother and devastated both parents," the DA said in a statement. "We are committed to improving the safety of Brooklyn’s streets, and I hope the family finds a measure of solace with today’s sentencing, knowing this defendant will be off the streets for a long time."
In the hallway after sentencing, a woman who accompanied Mott to court but refused to provide her name or her relation to him declined to comment, and insisted that his attorney not speak to the press.
“Can’t you just say no comment? I really wouldn't like this story to be told,” she told the barrister.
Mott still faces a civil trial for the fatal crash. The grieving parents, Guillemin and Mong, sued both Mott and the city for “serious, severe and permanent personal and emotional injuries by reason of the negligence, recklessness and carelessness and wanton and willful acts and/or omissions.”
The city has denied any wrongdoing, and instead blamed the dead child's parents in court papers, saying that the couple should have known the dangers of walking on the sidewalk in New York City, Streetsblog previously reported.
“Plaintiff[s] culpable conduct caused or contributed to the alleged injuries and the alleged wrongful death,” the city’s Assistant Corporation Counsel Elizabeth Gross wrote in court papers filed last summer. “Plaintiff[s] negligence caused or contributed to the alleged injuries and the alleged wrongful death.”
The attorney representing Mott in the civil case declined to comment.
Attempts to reach the grieving family and their attorney, Frank Seddio, were unsuccessful.
