The 18-year-old driver that blew through a red light and caused the death of a bicyclist in Flatbush, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.
The NYPD says that Mizra Baig, 18, of Rego Park, Queens was charged in the crash that took the life of 52-year-old bicyclist Jose Alzorriz.
The District Attorney tells YWN he was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on a 17-count indictment in which he is charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, criminally negligent homicide and other charges. Bail was set at $50,000 bond or $10,000 cash and the defendant was ordered to return to court on October 23, 2019. He faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top count with which he is charged.
The District Attorney said that on August 11, 2019 the defendant was driving a 2019 Dodge Charger, going southbound on Coney Island Avenue in Midwood, Brooklyn. The investigation found that when he crossed Avenue L at 12:27 p.m., the defendant was speeding through a steady red light which turned red at least five seconds earlier, and collided with a 2018 Honda Pilot that had the light and was heading east on Avenue L. The Dodge was allegedly going at approximately 61 mph in a 25 mph zone at the time of the impact, the evidence shows.
As a result of the collision, the Honda was forced diagonally across the intersection and struck a cyclist who was situated in the southeast corner, waiting for the light to change on the northbound lanes of Coney Island Avenue.
The cyclist, 52-year-old Jose Alzorriz, was thrown off his bike and became pinned between a brick wall and the Honda. He was rushed to the hospital by Flatbush Hatzolah Paramedics, where he was pronounced dead.
An additional two victims from the two cars were rushed to the hospital, one of them had internal bleeding and spinal trauma, but was stabilized a few days later.
He was also charged with:
Vehicular Assault
Reckless Endangerment
Assault
Criminal Solicitation
Criminal Facilitation
Reckless Driving
Disobey Traffic Device
Traffic Device Violation
Speed Violation
He is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Wednesday afternoon.
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5 Responses
This is a tragedy, and I am not trying to distract from it. I just don’t understand the legal situation here – I suppose that logically he did two things wrong (presumably on purpose?):
– Speeding
– Ignoring the Red Light
Additionally, as a result he unintentionally (aka 2nd degree) killed someone (homicide) and injured others (assault.)
Aren’t all of the other charges just relabeling the same actions just to pile up additional charges?
How can he be charged with 2nd degree assault, assault, and vehicular assault – all three at the same time? I have the same confusion about Reckless Endangerment and Reckless Driving, as well as Disobey Traffic Device vs. Traffic Device Violation.
And I have no idea what Criminal Solicitation and Criminal Facilitation are.
I guess when they say “throw the book at him” they don’t mean the dictionary!!
Finally, no matter how reckless a person is, to speed and occasionally sneak through a light, why in the world would a person intentionally go straight through a solid red light? He could have been killed, besides for killing other people. Maybe he was blind, sleeping or on drugs?
A word to the wise be very careful when you drive especially for pedestrians and bikers. In today’s society the driver is not only wrong there is no such thing as an accident anymore. If G-D forbid you have an accident at 26mph expect to go through the system. The same is true with yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk even if they are crossing against the light or even in the middle of the street the driver is always wrong. Please drive safely and carefully.
61 mph in a 25 mph zone?? Total disregard for human life including his own. If he wants to gamble go to AC or LV.. At 18 y.o. he does not have the maturity to know different? Well, now he knows. Painful lesson to sit behind bars for 5-15 years. Schools should teach responsibility. Just go to hospitals and see results of reckless driving and jails to see the consequences. Sobering reality. Actions have consequences. Nebech on him and on deceased.
I have found, in driving in the 5 boros, that some of the most dangerously driven cars are Dodge Chargers. This is an utterly unscientific opinion, but I would not be surprised if the folks who keep track of these things, i.e., insurance companies, have reached the same conclusion. There might be something in the Dodge Charger marketing that attracts bad drivers, or, worse, encourages bad driving. Let me emphasize: this is just my casual observation, not a sound conclusion.
61 in a 25 zone is inexcusable. What was so important that he was willing to risk his life and that of others. It does seem, based on the charges there are other issues at hand vis a vis the driver.