Posted on 10/25/2004 6:09:42 AM PDT by cyborg
A Queens boy run over by an alleged drunken driver died of his injuries yesterday, as his heartbroken family branded the man behind the wheel a "murderer."
Loved ones of Vasean Phillip Alleyne are outraged that under current state law, alleged killer motorist John Wirta can't be charged with homicide or get more than a year in prison.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Boy, 11, dies in DWI horror
Mom rips 'murderer'
Vasean Phillip Alleyne with his mother Monique Dixon
A Queens boy run over by an alleged drunken driver died of his injuries yesterday, as his heartbroken family branded the man behind the wheel a "murderer."
Loved ones of Vasean Phillip Alleyne are outraged that under current state law, alleged killer motorist John Wirta can't be charged with homicide or get more than a year in prison.
"The city that we live in, the law says he is not a murderer," the child's mother, Monique Dixon, told the Daily News.
"Well, I tell you what. He most certainly is, because my son is dead now. I woke up this morning without a child."
Vasean and best buddy Angel Reyes, both 11, were struck by Wirta's Ford van as they crossed 73rd St. in Kew Gardens Hills on Friday night.
"Mom, mom, mom," Vasean moaned before lapsing into a coma, witnesses said.
"The neighbors rang my bell and started screaming," Dixon said.
Choked with emotion, she paused to remember the bright seventh-grader who wanted to be a lawyer, who was headed home to pick up pajamas for a sleepover when he was killed.
"He would have been 12 on Dec. 16," she said. "I was blessed by every second of every minute of every hour I had with him."
Vasean died several hours after the crash, while Angel was still hospitalized last night in stable condition with head injuries, officials said.
"They tried to stop the bleeding, but he went into cardiac arrest," Dixon said of her son.
Wirta, 56, who police said had a blood-alcohol content well above the legal limit, was arraigned on two counts of driving while intoxicated and freed on $5,000 bail.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum sentence of 12 months behind bars.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that because there is no evidence of "aggravating factors" such as speeding, the law bars him from seeking a harsher penalty.
"This case is another example of the lethal consequences resulting from driving while intoxicated," the frustrated prosecutor said.
"It deserves to be treated with greater seriousness than the law presently allows."
Even Wirta's lawyer, Anthony Rattoballi - while insisting his client is innocent - said it's "surprising" that his client wasn't in more trouble.
"I can understand their feelings," he said of Vasean's outraged relatives. "I think my client would say that, too."
The News has been campaigning to toughen the law so that killer drivers are accountable for their actions, but any change will come too late for Vasean's shattered family.
"He takes one kid's life, he almost takes another, and you take his license away from him," the boy's stepfather, Dwight Thompson, 31, said in disgust.
If he does escape any jail time, the citizens will take matters into their own hands. He's better off in prison.
Now if the driver had owned an unregistered gun he'd really be in big trouble. Nice to know the NYC "justice" system has its priorities straight
exactly!
He'll have to move most definately.
I don't know what the answer is, this is too lenient:
I'd think, there would be charges of vehicular manslaughter; What in the world?
People need to owe up to these things too, not try to get away with it.
"Wirta, 56, who police said had a blood-alcohol content well above the legal limit, was arraigned on two counts of driving while intoxicated and freed on $5,000 bail.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum sentence of 12 months behind bars."
Wow.
This is way too lenient I agree. His own lawyer expected him to get a harsher punishment. What does that say about the law itself?
I cannot even imagine this horror. If he is out on bail, I bet he is watching over his shoulder! Naw, he is probably out drinking!
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that because there is no evidence of "aggravating factors" such as speeding, the law bars him from seeking a harsher penalty.
Did the driver run a red light or stop sign? Was he driving recklessly? Did he run up on the curb? Did the little boy walk out in the street without looking?
It's hard to tell from the story, but if the little boy died because of his own carelessness, it doesn't matter whether the driver that hit him was drunk or not. Therefore, he should only be charged with DUI.
I hope not. I hope he won't ever drink again. Just recently a guy ran down some high school students near where I live. I just don't get it.
Your analysis is reasonable, but just picture yourself telling that to his mom.
Good for you.
I've met guys in AA who've been in the group for years. I am continually amazed at their level of committment to sobriety. It's too bad that some people have to take someone's life to come to the level of clarity that you have.
DUI is driving recklessly.
http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/expwy/qb/
I've been through Queens, but not around this area. That same area where he got killed is called the Boulevard of Death for a whole host of reasons.
Somebody ran over a 15 year old here in Austin on Friday night and drove off. The kid will recover, but so help me God if I found that guy.
About this story, I wonder if any traffic laws at all were being violated? Would it make a difference, legally, if the kids just ran out in front of the van, or if the van blew through a red light?
A super-secondary highway over 10 lanes wide, with three divider medians for much of its stretch, Queens Boulevard has earned an unwelcome and infamous reputation as a human bowling alley. Along with the bad rap came infamous nicknames such as The Boulevard of Death and The Boulevard of Broken Bones. The bad publicity kicked up considerably since the 1990's, but in truth, pedestrians have been at war with the traffic here going all the way back to its widening in the 1930's.
Queens Boulevard cuts its swath through the hearts of numerous central Queens neighborhoods, including Sunnyside, Woodside, Elmhurst, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Briarwood and finally, Jamaica.
Sounds like a real safe place for an 11 year old to be on a Friday night.
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