Traffic Justice
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New Penalties for Reckless Drivers Now In Effect, But NYPD Isn’t Ready
In May, the City Council passed a package of legislation to crack down on traffic violence. In June, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the bills. Today, one of the most important bills in that package goes into effect: Intro 238, also known as Section 19-190, creates a new criminal misdemeanor charge for reckless drivers. But NYPD’s legal department has yet to create an enforcement directive for officers and investigators on the street.
August 22, 2014
Will Cy Vance Fail to Prosecute Another Serious Midtown Curb-Jump Crash?
New Yorkers have seen this before.
August 7, 2014
DA Thompson Plea Deal: Serial Unlicensed Driver Fined $250 for Deadly Crash
A serial unlicensed driver who killed a pedestrian will pay a few hundred dollars in fines pursuant to a plea deal with Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.
August 6, 2014
15-Day Maximum Sentence for Unlicensed Driver Who Killed Bronx Senior
An unlicensed driver who killed a pedestrian in the Bronx last year was charged with only a traffic infraction that carries a nominal fine and a maximum 15-day jail term.
August 1, 2014
No Homicide Charge for Unlicensed Curb-Jumping Driver Who Killed SI Woman
A motorist who crashed on a Staten Island sidewalk was charged by District Attorney Dan Donovan with driving without a license and drug possession, but not for killing one pedestrian and hospitalizing another.
July 25, 2014
New York’s Top Court Exhibits Depraved Indifference to Pedestrians’ Lives
In a decision that may hinder future prosecutions of killer drivers, New York's highest court rejected the murder conviction of a car thief who fatally struck a Brooklyn pedestrian during a high-speed NYPD chase -- ruling that the defendant showed concern for others' safety by swerving around vehicles and people as he attempted to elude police.
July 23, 2014
Serial Unlicensed Driver Gets Misdemeanor Charge in Brooklyn Death
A man with an outstanding charge for driving without a license fatally struck a pedestrian in Brooklyn last December but faces only a second charge of unlicensed driving after taking someone's life.
July 2, 2014
Brooklyn DAs Ignore “Rule of Two” in Death of Pedestrian Maude Savage
An unlicensed motorist who killed a senior in Brooklyn last year has pled guilty to a low-level misdemeanor and could be sentenced to probation and a nominal fine. Though the driver was charged with violating two traffic laws, current and former district attorneys Ken Thompson and Charles Hynes declined to pursue criminal negligence charges under the so-called "rule of two."
June 24, 2014
Mother of Cooper Stock: NYPD Must Hold Reckless Cab Drivers Accountable
Update: According to a spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio, today's scheduled bill signing was postponed.
June 13, 2014
Bronx Hit-and-Run Driver Who Killed Abigail Lino Gets Six Months in Jail
A hit-and-run driver who killed a woman in the Bronx in 2013 will serve six months in jail.
June 11, 2014