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By Carol Tannenhauser
Brian Boyd, 27, the Upper West Side man who fatally hit actress Lisa Banes with a moped in June 2021, then fled the scene leaving her lying in the crosswalk on Amsterdam Avenue and West 64th Street, pleaded guilty to charges of “manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident on Wednesday in State Supreme Court,” the Daily News reported.
Boyd, who blew through a red light and was driving without a license, will be sentenced on November 30, and is expected to get one to three years, “though prosecutors had sought three to nine years,” according to The New York Times. Boyd was arrested on August 4, 2021.
“Officers from the 20th Precinct recognized [Boyd] from a wanted poster and picked him up in the lobby of his building at 90 Amsterdam Avenue,” an NYPD spokesman told WSR at the time. According to the original criminal complaint, after the crash, Boyd “went straight to a bike shop to tend to his damaged vehicle.”
Banes was visiting the city from Los Angeles when she was killed. She had stopped in to visit her alma mater, Juilliard, at Lincoln Center, and was going to meet friends for dinner. The actress starred in many film, theater, and movie productions, perhaps best known for her roles in the movies “Cocktail” and “Gone Girl.”
Banes’ death shocked the neighborhood, as did the recent moped incident, also occuring near Lincoln Center, which gravely injured Pamela Greitzer-Manasse.
Glad 20th Precinct could ID the guy. Would be even happier if NYPD would vigorously enforce the traffic laws, catch unlicensed drivers and scare miscreants into getting off the road already with these awful mopeds. PREVENT these deaths and injuries.
not justice. this extremely light sentence is disgusting.
It’s especially light, since the guy didn’t stick around to help her, and the NYPD had to figure out a legit suspect then make an arrest.
Got to change the vehicular laws.
Wow. 1 to 3 years seems pretty light to me.
In this new fangled lawless city, a victim’s life is worth way less than a criminal’s life. WOW!!!
It’s state law andthe city does not determine this.
that would be Linda Rosenthal and Brad Hoylman
1-3 years for killing someone and fleeing the scene? Yeah that’ll teach him.
Does anyone understand why the expected sentence is so short compared to the sentence sought by the prosecution? The details of this case seem pretty egregious in my lay opinion.
Seems like a fairly short sentence for someone who killed another person and lacked empathy or sense of value for an innocent human life. Are we to hope that prison will teach him moral responsibility so next time he behaves differently? Strange sense of priorities this young man has. I’m sure he will miss his bike.
it’s a strange sense of priorities our government has also! no politician that i know has spoken out about the injuries and deaths due to these vehicles – nor of the deaths and fires caused by charging electric scooters.
One to three years? What is wrong with the judges, courts, and prosecutors? Oh yeah, the prosecutors work for Bragg. With him everyone gets a “get out of jail free card”.
Did you read the part where it says that the DA’s office sought 3 – 9 years?
I can’t stand Bragg. But note that the article cites the NYT as saying that prosecutors sought a three- to nine-year sentence.
Lisa Banes is taken from the world and her killer gets 1 to 3 year sentence. He will probably serve less but Lisa has suffered a life sentence. JUSTICE?
why would this hit and run murderer get such a short sentence after they caught him much later in a ‘man-hunt’???? this is ridiculous to give him such a short sentence….Lisa Banes life was worth so much more that small sentence to her murderer!!
Only 1-3 years for taking someone’s life and leaving her to die! This city gets scarier by the day for pedestrians and law abiding vehicle/bike riders. Mayor Adams please wake up!
1-3 years for killing a human being. Outrageous.
1-3 years?? For KILLING someone — and fleeing?? This is nuts. No wonder crime is the way it is.
That’s it? Does he get to gat back on his moped and kill again?
As all UWS residents know, bikers, moped riders and motorcycle riders routinely ignore all traffic regulations running red lights, speeding, riding on the sidewalk, etc. I have never seen the police enforce the traffic laws against any of this. The sad death of Ms. Banes was the result and she won’t be the last.
Most mopeds are actually illegal since they are not licensed – a good number of motorbikes hide their license plates – not to mention dirt bike and atv wheelies. Police do nothing. Please don’t lump my slow citibiike in with this mayhem
But Lyft bikes are ridden illegally all the time, some times very much endangering pedestrians.
Also, e-mopeds, AKA “throttle e-bikes” are legal as long as they’re speed limited. Of course, the drivers are to obey traffic laws, which quite frequently they don’t. And the NYPD does nothing.
Wow, this seems way too lenient! What if an unlicensed automobile driver ran a red light, killed Lisa Banes and then fled the scene? I’d expect a much harsher penalty
It’s happened many times and no, you don’t get a longer sentence if you do it with a car.
We need legislation upping the penalties for vehicular homicides.
I – 3 years for the death of this wonderful woman? Not enough punishment for murder plus cowardice. This illustrates the complete disregard the authorities have for innocent pedestrian’s lives. Every time I am outside even for a short walk I witness many bikers (mostly on electric bikes) ignoring simple traffic laws – going the wrong way on one way streets, blowing through red lights, riding on the sidewalk, and worst of all speeding. It is extremely rare to see a biker who obeys the rules. More innocent pedestrians will inevitably be injured and killed.
Cowardice? He had the guts to go to a repair shop right away! And they have guts to let him get away with murder. Maybe some humility and respect for human life would be in order. I don’t even know how to argue because words can’t make sense of this. I’m stunned, outraged and heartbroken for all who are re-victimized and bereft from this miscarriage of justice. I guess we have to expect more of the same since the past is a good indicator for what to expect in the future.
In the unlikely case anyone needed a reminder, we all spent 2 years basically locked up in order to help each other. This guy will likely serve less, for killing someone.
Nothing in this city surprises me anymore.
Human life is cheap in NYC. Criminals are coddled and activists still have the gall to cry and moan about full prisons.
Let’s place the blame where it belongs: On Helen Rosenthal, Community Board 7, and Howard Yaruss of CB 7 for opening our streets to this free-for-all of two-wheeled vehicles via their advocacy of “protected bike lanes.” These “lanes” were the signal to the narcissistic, the irresponsible, and the criminal class that anything goes.
It was, in my view, idealist rose-colored-glasses thinking that the bike lanes would be used by model cyclists who navigate carefully and obey traffic laws. I’ve had too many close calls by the opposite.
This guilty plea doesn’t absolve the NYPD (not “traffic” enforcement) from its ignored responsibility to stop people driving the legal, but speed limited, e-scooters and throttle e-bikes in various illegal manners.
Nor does this guilty plea do anything about the NYPD utterly ignoring the driving of unlicensed, there illegal, petrol scooters.
The drivers of the e and petrol machines need to be arrested when they break moving violation laws.
By not arresting them, the NYPD, the State, and the City caused Ms Banes’s untimely death in 2021.
Were I her relatives, or wife, I’d look into filing a large civil suit against both the City-NYPD and the State.
So it’s all the fault of the NYPD? It’s actually the fault of the people of the city of New York. You voted for De Blasio, you Voted for Bragg. You stood by and watched as your Police Department was attacked, defunded and disrespected. You voted for people who passed bail reform.
The NYPD can not recruit quality people anymore they are getting mostly recycled jail guards and traffic agents. You think the NYPD is doing nothing now? Wait until you see what is coming. Adams continues to treat Cops like crap they haven’t had a contract or pay raise in since 2017. Cops are fleeing this City every day.
Keep mistreating the NYPD, they’ll go away.
Wrong. The city voted to allow throttle ebikes before Adams – this has escalated to illegal scooters and motorbikes which the cops routinely ignore. NYPD have had budgets increased
Speed limited throttle e-bikes and e-scooters were legalized by the State not the City.
Now, it’s a freeforall of non-speed limited unlicensed illegal gasoline powered scooters.
These kinds of slap-on-the-wrist sentences are routinely meted out when car and truck drivers kill pedestrians, and if the driver stays at the scene and is sober, there’s usually only a traffic ticket. Such travesties of justice happen all the time in the city and barely make the news, because motor vehicle laws overwhelmingly favor drivers. But this one involved an illegal moped and a famous actress, so people suddenly take notice.
Disgusting! What his life is more valuable than hers? He should get life
1-3 years is actually a pretty long sentence if you look at what most drivers get for killing a pedestrian or cyclist.
If you’re not drunk, stay on the scene, and have a valid license, Drivers usually get nothing. Distracted vehicular homicide in the U.S. is considered an oopsie that kill 40,000 in an average year.
1-3 years! My god
Not only he took away recklessly the life of a human being, by violating traffic laws, but he also demonstrated complete indifference or empathy and carelessly run away from the scene of crime. He should spend the rest of his life behind bars and should not see a day light ever again.
How many times now have unlicensed mopeds and scooters, blowing through lights, sped up and aimed at me as I have lawfully crossed an avenue? Expect more deaths since the mayor does nothing.
Absolutely disgusting … it appears that in this city, a human life isn’t worth very much. 1 to 3 years for driving a moped (should be banned), passing a light, hitting and killing a woman and fleeing the scene? I just don’t get it!!!!! He’ll probably be release early too. What has happened to our justice system?
That intersection has gotten worse since this tragic incident. With light-jumping delivery people and folks on electric bikes and mopeds disobeying every traffic rule, pedestrians are at greater risk then ever. Something needs to be done before more die. We need to licence these types of vechicles, cluding bicyles and police need to enforce the law.
1-3 years , he will end up with just probation