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Judge Spent 47 Seconds Tossing Out Traffic Tickets Against Driver Who Killed 3-Year-Old
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 19, 2014
Modified Nov 19, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Nov 19, 2014
Modified Nov 19, 2014
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The Queens County DA's Office has already explained why they chose not to prosecute the driver who killed 3-year-old Allison Liao as she crossed Main Street in Flushing with her grandmother (as Streetsblog puts it, "Accidents Happen"). Now WNYC reports that a judge dismissed the driver's two traffic tickets in roughly the same amount of time it took for him to fatally strike Liao last fall.
The entire hearing, which occurred this past July, lasts 47 seconds, but administrative law Judge William Lee spends just six of them questioning the officer at the scene then rendering his verdict.
"No personal observation?" Judge Lee asks.
"That's right," the unnamed police officer responds.
"No videotape?"
"Um," the officer replies. And just like that, the tickets accusing driver Ahmed Abu-Zayedeh of failing to yield and failing to exercise due care disappear. "Dismissed. Not guilty."
There was in fact video of the crash, but the officer either did know know about it or chose not to speak up. No other investigation materials were considered in Judge Lee's decision. Here's the harrowing video; the collision is around 1:55:
Liao Family Testimony in Support of 19-190 and Crash Video from Vaccaro and White on Vimeo.
"The NYPD should have been there with knowledgable officers with a copy of the videotape to show it to the judge," Steve Vaccaro, an attorney for the Liao family, told us last week. "It's hard for me to believe that any person can watch that videotape and not have reached the conclusion that the driver failed to use due care."
The DMV, which initially refused to respond to WNYC's questions, said they will hold a special hearing to determine whether Abu-Zayedeh's license should be revoked, which is standard practice for any fatality they handle.
U.S. Rep Grace Meng also drafted a letter to DMV Commissioner Barvara Fiala, who tried in 2011 to eliminate the vision test to renew licenses, to "protest the unacceptable and irresponsible decision by a Department of Motor Vehicles Administrative Law Judge to dismiss the traffic tickets against Ahmad Abu-Zayedeha [sic]."
You can read the entire letter below.
Rep.menglettertoNYSDMV11!17!14
Tagged
allison liao
cis
dmv
pedestrian fatalities
pedestrian safety
vision zero
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.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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