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Hit & Run Driver Was Allegedly Texting Before Fatal Midtown Crash
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 10, 2014
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 10, 2014
Modified Jul 24, 2017
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The driver who killed a pedestrian in a hit and run crash in May has been arrested. Construction worker Thomas Shanley, 35, was on parole when he allegedly fatally struck activist Charity Hicks around 8:30 a.m. at West 34th Street and Tenth Avenue on May 31st.
Shanley struck a fire hydrant and bus stop sign pole that day; the pole then fell onto Hicks, an activist from Detroit who was in town to speak at a conference. Another man also sustained minor injuries. Shanley abandoned his car and fled the scene. The Daily News adds that Shanley, who was on parole after serving three years for drug possession, had been texting on his iPhone during the incident.
Shanley's lawyer, Edward Hammock, told them: "There was lost control [sic] of a vehicle which the DA claims he was driving. What happened from there was unclear." Shanley has been charged with second-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, resulting in death. The News adds that Shanley's father was a cop: Police Officer Thomas Shanley, died of a heart attack while on the job in July 1986.
Tagged
cis
hit and run
manhattan
midtown
pedestrian fatalities
thomas shanley
vision zero
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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