Photo by David Torres.
A 54-year-old woman was killed after a van driver drove the wrong way on the Henry Hudson Parkway late Tuesday night and slammed into the car she was riding in around 79th street. Olga Ilini of Fair Lawn, NJ was a passenger in a Southbound Subaru hit by a 2003 Dodge minivan driving North in the Southbound lane, according to police.
The minivan may have been stolen, and the driver was driving erratically for a while, Gothamist reported.
The minivan was reportedly first spotted “striking several parked cars on Eighth Avenue” and 17th Street “in Chelsea around 11:45 p.m.”
An NYPD spokesman says officers tried to stop the car, but were unsuccessful. Police continued to attempt to stop the car, but, the spokesman emphasized, it was never a pursuit with sirens and lights.
At around West 59th Street, the minivan then headed onto the West Side Highway, going north but in the southbound lanes. At West 79th Street (where the road is the Henry Hudson Parkway), the vehicle crashed into a silver car heading south.
The occupants of the Dodge were taken into custody, police said.
“The minivan was reportedly first spotted “striking several parked cars on Eighth Avenue” and 17th Street “in Chelsea around 11:45 p.m.
An NYPD spokesman says officers tried to stop the car, but were unsuccessful. Police continued to attempt to stop the car, but, the spokesman emphasized, it was never a pursuit with sirens and lights.”
Normally, I am one to not point a finger at the police, but this time, if what I just read is correct, the police is partially responsible for the death of the woman.
Had they gone viral in their hunt of the killer van, most likely the woman would still be alive, and I will not be writing this letter.
And please, just once, please…
Find these criminal killers guilty and lock them up for life, with no parole.
This was not an accident.
This was murder. Murder 1.
I hardly ever agree with Zeus (nothing personal!) but I agree this criminal killer should be locked up for good.
DNAinfo reported the man who killed her had been arrested three times over the past year for driving on a suspended license. Twice after those arrests, Bronx courts released him on the same day. After his third arrest in a year for unlicensed driving, he had $2500 bail knocked down to $1 and was released again.
What can I say….. that was painful to read.
‘Had they gone viral […]’?? Putting it on the internet would have helped?
Putting it on the internet would have been a waste of time, as the van was traveling at a high speed, and what could people who may have seen it on the net do about it?
By going viral I meant that the police could have chased the van and possibly block the road ahead of it, and for sure – do it with lights and sirens blasting to high heaven.
Now the only sound in heaven are the angels welcoming the poor woman in.
…illegal aliens – yup read the NY Times….
…the woman who got hit – died….