News: Trial for Fatal LI Road Rage Incident
(Long Island, N.Y.) The trial began for the twenty-four-year-old Oceanside resident who was arrested for striking and running over a thirty-four-year-old with his vehicle. The incident occurred about two years ago on the Friday morning of May 15th, 2009. Prior to his death, the deceased had experienced a fit of road rage and had used his vintage Porsche to block the young man’s vehicle.
The incident occurred at roughly ten in the morning in the center of town in Long Beach. It attracted a bulk of witnesses who had heard the commotion from their work offices on the busy street of West Park Avenue. Reports at the time of the incident claimed that the young man was headed to Queens College that morning and had intentions of soon graduating.
After being arrested, he was released on $500,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Additional charges of criminally negligent homicide were later brought against him. He could face a maximum sentence of five to fifteen years if convicted. The deceased was a six-foot-five well-built man who worked as an athletic engineer, and was driving a 1978 yellow Porsche at the time of the incident.
The then twenty-two-year-old was in a black Nissan Altima when the pair began to drive aggressively for an estimated distance of two miles. The young man’s defense attorney claims that his client was “reckless but not intentional” and had been chased by the deceased who displayed “unreasonable anger.” Defenders of the victim claim that the chase ensued because he had been trying to obtain the number of the young man’s license plate.
The pair then began exchanging words from their vehicles and the young man made a U-turn to flee the area. In response, the deceased ran a red light, blocked the young man’s car, and got out of his vehicle. The defense claims that he left his vehicle twice before pounding and kicking the Nissan and threatening the young man with screams and obscenities.
The victim’s outburst attracted witnesses, some of whom claimed that the young man appeared to be afraid that he would break through the glass of the car and kill him. Some reports claimed that the young man tried to reverse his vehicle but was blocked by another car. Records confirm that he dialed 911 from inside his vehicle while the deceased was screaming behind the glass.
The young man’s defense attorney claims that his client panicked when he hit the accelerator and drove forward, striking the thirty-four-year-old Wantagh native and running over his body. He then drove a block south onto National Boulevard before he was apprehended by two pedestrian witnesses. He was later arrested by Long Beach police.
This case has drawn a lot of publicity and has divided public opinion on the guilt of the young man. Some peg him as a killer who was protected behind the glass of his vehicle. Others sympathize and consider his attempts to flee as signs of genuine panic. They claim they would have done the same, and wouldn’t have wasted time by attempting to drive away or three-point-turn during those crucial moments of danger.
Some say that the fear of the victim pulling a gun would have led them to keep their foot on the accelerator. They also believe that the deceased suffered from a classic case of road rage prior to his death. The trial is expected to last for a month, during which the defendant claims to be eager to clear his name.
