Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Stabbed Man Whose SUV Killed 13-Year-Old Girl Spent 4 Years In Prison
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 1, 2011
Modified Aug 1, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Aug 1, 2011
Modified Aug 1, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The 44-year-old man who was driving the SUV that flipped over and killed 13-year-old Kira Goddard in Brooklyn Saturday night spent a total of four years in state prison for robbery and drug dealing. Sean Lewis, 44, was stabbed in the torso prior to striking three parked vehicles and backing his Range Rover into another, sending the car tumbling over the curb and fatally pinning her against her building. Lewis, who had at least 10 children (reports vary from 10 to 11), died in the hospital, where authorities discovered he'd been stabbed. "He was a real family man," his 24-year-old son Sean Norman tells the Post, "I'm mourning my father and also that innocent little girl. Neither of them deserved to die."
Norman claims that he's unsure of why his father, a former construction worker, was stabbed: "He didn't have any problems with anyone…We need to find out who stabbed my father. He is the one responsible for these deaths." However the Times talks to a Staten Island woman who is mother to three of Lewis' children, and "she had heard that Mr. Lewis was trying to get repaid for a loan on Saturday night." Lewis' girlfriend told the paper, "He wasn't a street dude, fighting and arguing with all types of people."
Lewis, who either lived in Bed-Stuy or Harlem, depending on what you read, apparently grew up on the same street as Goddard, and had friends in the area that he visited frequently. A neighbor tells the Post that "Lewis had a longstanding feud with a neighbor," and the two "had been arguing over money the past couple of weeks. Lewis reportedly had 9 prior arrests, including for felony assault and distribution of a controlled substance. He spent 2 years in prison in 1992 for robbery, and another two four years later for the drug charge.
Goddard, who saved the lives of her 5 friends and sister by herding them into her building as Lewis' SUV barreled towards them, continues to be mourned. "She told us to run for our lives, and she didn't get a chance to run for hers," a friend said. Kira's mother adds, "She was 13 but she thought she was a mother to the other kids…A part of me is gone."
Tagged
bed stuy
brooklyn
crash
crime
drugs
felony assault
harlem
nypd
suv
tragedies
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Plainclothes ICE agent with long gun looked like mass shooter, Mayor Mamdani says
The mayor said his administration would review ICE and NYPD actions surrounding Thursday’s shooting.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 11, 2026
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
News
NJ Transit riders face 5 weeks of schedule disruptions starting Sunday
NJ Transit and Amtrak riders should prepare for cancellations, schedule changes and longer commutes as work continues on the new Portal North Bridge.
By
Giulia Heyward
For a Democrat in a traditionally red NJ district, how to woo Republican voters
By
Mike Hayes
2 pedestrians killed in Bronx crash after driver ran red light, police say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
Ann Givens
Rain could put a damper on NYC’s long weekend. Here’s when it will clear.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .