In New York, drivers who kill pedestrians and cyclists are almost never arrested: sometimes they don’t even try to punish them.

New York fines driver who killed cyclist Aaron Padwey $75. And also by extending the period of deprivation of rights, which he already ignored. The way the state punishes motorists accused of killing people in traffic accidents is surprising to say the least. New York Daily News.

Padwey, 45, was cycling in Queens in 2018 when another driver unexpectedly opened the car door, blocking his path. Padwey hit the door and fell under an SUV driven by 36-year-old Agustín Osorio-Torres. Osorio-Torres, who was standing at a traffic light, stepped on the gas and drove over Padwey, killing him. The tragedy occurred at the intersection of 46th Avenue and 21st Street in Long Island City.

The state issued a total of $195 in fines for this death: $75 paid by Osorio-Torres; and another $120 - Louise Bien-Aime - for unsafely opening the door in a traffic jam. She was not prosecuted, she denied her guilt.

“They considered my son’s death a misdemeanor,” recalled the cyclist’s father, 79-year-old Michael Padwee, bitterly.

Justice in this case was not administered in criminal courts, but in the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) boardrooms.

Even more horrifying in this case is that Osorio-Torres lost his driver's license in 2015 for failing to pay a fine. And since then he has been driving without a license. He pleaded guilty to aggravated unlicensed driving. This was the only criminal charge he faced. He was ordered to pay a $75 fine. The state also extended the suspension of Osorio-Torres' license, which it ignored anyway, for another six months.

Bien Aime's driver's license was also suspended for six months.

On the subject: After a minor accident, the man deliberately ran over the driver of another car several times to hide the accident

In a deposition filed in connection with an ongoing civil lawsuit over the crash, Osorio-Torres admitted to seeing the bike fall behind his car and then hit the gas. The lawsuit alleges that he ignored warnings from witnesses and a colleague that the cyclist was under an SUV.

“He didn't listen,” Michael Padwey said of Osorio-Torres. “Maybe if he had done that, Aaron would have survived.”

This is not an isolated case.

Hundreds of fatal accidents occur in the city every year. However, less than half of the drivers are held accountable. And even fewer face criminal charges.

State Department of Motor Vehicles data for 2021 shows that 74 accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists and motorists were reported to the NYPD. In these accidents, 627 people died and another 276 were injured.

The NYPD's Collision Investigation Unit investigated fatal accidents. And I came to the conclusion that 110 of them were criminal acts. Detectives made 70 arrests. Of these, 10 drivers were charged with traffic homicide, traffic accident manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter. They are punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The remaining 60 arrested were charged with a minor offense. Such as leaving the scene of an accident, refusing to give way to a pedestrian, and creating a hazard.

Murder or manslaughter charges were brought in 3,6% of the accidents investigated by the group last year.

The numbers didn't differ much in 2020. Then 72 crashes reported by police resulted in 640 deaths and 243 injuries. That year, at the height of the pandemic, 33 fatal crashes were declared criminal. And 549 drivers were arrested. But only four were charged with murder in a traffic accident or manslaughter in a traffic accident.

The consequences of the actions of killer drivers are rarely considered by law enforcement agencies and courts. This was said by Padwee, who buried his wife Susan 10 months after Aaron's death. After the death of her son and the lack of justice, she gave up the fight with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and spinal stenosis.

“She just couldn't take it anymore,” he said. “There is very little justice for car crash victims and their families. It's just not built into the system."

Another example of impunity

On February 9, 2022, a woman with a study permit, not a license, lost control of her car in Far Rockaway, Queens. She ran to the side of the road and crashed into 10-year-old Davina Afokoba, killing her. The car also hit the mother of three, Annela James, who suffered serious injuries to her leg and arm.

“Honestly, I thought someone was trying to kill me,” recalls 33-year-old James.

Police determined that the woman stepped on the gas as she was about to hit the brakes, causing her to jump over the curb and hit Davina and James.

Five months later, James is still recovering from the accident. On June 7, an NYPD collision detective told her that the police would not prosecute the woman who hit her. A woman was issued a student permit driving ticket without a licensed adult driver in the car with her... and that was it.

Fines for driving a student alone range from $75 to $300. depending on the severity of the offense.

“We have conducted a thorough review of the case and consultations with the Queens District Attorney's office on this matter,” said an NYPD spokeswoman. “If there was a criminal charge with the facts, we would have filed it.”

“I am recovering, but there is a mother who has lost her child,” James said. - I'm not saying that the driver of that car should serve 10 years. But this woman had no rights, and she faces no real repercussions. She can go on with her life."