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No Charges For Hit-And-Run Truck Driver Who Killed Fordham Student
By
Scott Heins
Published Jun 28, 2016
Modified Jun 28, 2016
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By
Scott Heins
Published Jun 28, 2016
Modified Jun 28, 2016
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The garbage truck driver who struck and killed Noah Goldstein, a 21-year-old Fordham University graduate, near Columbus Circle earlier this month will face no criminal charges.
Goldstein was found lying dead in the crosswalk at West 61st Street and Broadway just after 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, June 18th. The garbage truck driver who killed Goldstein did not remain at the scene, and investigators determined that Goldstein had been attempting to cross the street when he was struck.
Speaking at a 20th Precinct Community Council meeting last night, NYPD Captain Levon Holley told attendees that investigators found no wrongdoing on the part of the driver. “Evidence points to it being an accident due to the fact that it was a garbage truck. [The driver] may not have known that he struck an individual,” Holley said, according to West Side Rag. “They are not pursuing any criminal charges at this time.”
Video footage of the crash that killed Goldstein was obtained by the NYPD, but there's a problem: the exact moment of impact is missing from the tape. "There is video of the incident but - for whatever reason - the camera jumped. So you see Noah crossing the street, and then the next thing you see is he is laid out in the street,” Holley said at the meeting. No witnesses came forward in the wake of the deadly crash and the hit-and-run driver was not tracked down until days later. An NYPD spokesperson confirmed that no charges have been filed in relation to the fatal crash, but could not clarify whether the truck driver worked for a private sanitation company or the Sanitation Department.
Goldstein had graduated from Fordham's theater program only two weeks before being killed, and was described by his classmates as "so young and full of promise."
“Noah was a gifted young artist. He was unfailingly curious, disciplined, and inventive. He was also among the most joyful and compassionate people I’ve worked with, and his mind was electric," Daniel Alexander Jones, an associate professor of theater at Fordham, told the NY Post. "I join my colleagues in offering our deepest condolences to Noah’s family. We have lost a bright star."
During the investigation of the crash that killed Goldstein, one official told the Daily News, “There’s cameras everywhere here...We'll catch the person." However, even with the (incomplete) video evidence, the pattern of letting drivers go unpunished for killing pedestrians in NYC continues.
Tagged
columbus circle
crash
fatal collision
fatal crash
hit and run
Noah Goldstein
vision zero
Scott Heins
Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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