Drunken Mex/Migrants Hit and Run

[Whitebear]

Illegal alien Guatemalan migrant accused in North Bergen hit-and-run arrested; 20-year-old victim dies

Rogelio Chavix-Tacen

Michael Viruet

Adrian Viruet

Three weeks after the hit-and-run of two brothers on a North Bergen street, authorities have arrested the man they say struck them and left the scene. The hit-and-run initially left Michael Viruet, 20, critically injured, but he died Thursday evening. His younger brother, Adrian, 11, is currently in therapy at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick. U.S. Marshals arrested Rogelio Chavix-Tacen, 38, of Guatemala in Annapolis, Maryland. Chavix-Tacen will be arraigned Monday at the Hudson County Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City and will face charges of death by auto, leaving the scene of a critical injury accident and aggravated assault by auto, said Schillari. All charges are second-degree, said Schillari, and it is unknown how much prison time Chavix-Taxen faces. “We’ve got him,” Schilarri said. “You can run, but you can’t hide.” Chavix-Tacen, an immigrant in the country illegally who has been working as a laborer in the North Bergen area for the last three years, had fled to Annapolis to stay with a family member, and was found hiding under the bed of the apartment. Schillari said the man was trying to flee to Texas to return to Guatemala. - (Invasion!)

• Brother Struck in Bergen County Hit-and-Run Dies
• Older brother in North Bergen hit-and-run dies, authorities say

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2014/12/12/drunk-rider-becomes-drunk-driver-after-swiping-cab/

Drunk rider becomes drunk driver after swiping cab
By Dana Sauchelli
December 12, 2014 | 1:20am

A drunken woman who was booted from a cab in Manhattan because she refused to pay her fare managed to slip behind the wheel and take off, leaving the driver behind, police sources told The Post.

Elizabeth Otero, 28 — who does not have a driver’s license — was belligerent when she got into an argument with her yellow-cab driver over money around 4 a.m. at the corner of East 12th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Village, police said.

Otero, of The Bronx, got out of the 2014 Toyota Camera leaving the rear passenger door open, sources said. The driver, 35, got out of the car to shut the door behind her when she suddenly jumped into the driver’s seat and drove off, sources said.

Police tracked down the woman using a GPS device inside the car and found her sitting comfortably inside the taxi about a mile away on Mercer Street with the engine running.

Otero blew a .22 on a Breathalyzer, nearly three times the legal limit.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/01/03/passenger-dies-after-drunk-driver-crashes-into-cab/

Passenger dies after ‘drunk driver’ crashes into cab
By Matt McNulty
January 3, 2015 | 2:03am

A Bronx woman was killed after a drunk driver plowed into the livery cab she was a passenger in on New Year’s Day, cops said.

Pamela Pimental, 27, was riding in the back seat of the Mercury Marquis shortly after 8 a.m. on Thursday morning when a Dodge Charger rear-ended the cab she was in while stopped at a red light on the Cross Bronx Expressway, according to police.

The driver of the Charger, who cops identified as Hernan Vega, stayed at the scene for cops to arrive, and allegedly failed a field sobriety test and breathalyzer when questioned by police.

Pimental was rushed to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead.

Vega, 37, was charged with criminally negligent homicide, vehicular manslaughter, and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Vega and the livery cab driver were also taken to Jacobi Hospital and were treated for minor injuries.

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/01/03/camden-man-charged-with-fatally-hitting-man/

Camden Man Charged With Fatally Hitting Man
January 3, 2015 12:44 PM

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A man who police say showed signs of being drunk has been charged with fatally hitting another man with his vehicle.

The Camden County prosecutor’s office has charged Neri Garcia, of Camden, with first-degree death by auto.

It was not immediately known if Garcia has a lawyer.

The prosecutor says Garcia hit Benjamin Cortes-Ramos with his 2000 Ford Explorer around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 in Camden. Cortes-Ramos died later that night at Cooper University Hospital.

The prosecutor says police reported that Garcia had a blood alcohol level of 0.21 percent and that they found two open containers of alcohol in his vehicle.

Garcia surrendered to police and was placed in county jail and was later released after posting bail .

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/02/04/man-killed-by-hit-and-run-struck-twice-in-street-cops/

Man killed by hit-and-run struck twice in street: cops
By Natasha Velez
February 4, 2015 | 10:24am

A hit-and-run driver fatally plowed into a California man in Queens Tuesday but later surrendered to police, cops said.

The victim, identified by cops as Kamil Gorski, 36, was in the crosswalk on Metropolitan Avenue and 62nd Street when he was struck by a 2007 white Ford van around 8 p.m. in Middle Village, cops said.

The driver of the vehicle, Raul Reyes, 53, fled the scene, heading eastbound on Metropolitan Avenue, according to police.

A car driving westbound struck the victim a second time, cops said.

That driver remained at the scene and has not been charged with a crime.

Gorski was pronounced dead at Elmhurst Hospital, according to authorities.

Reyes turned himself in to the 104th precinct stationhouse where he was charged with leaving the scene of an addicting resulting in death, cops said.

Gorski was from San Marcos, California.

Reyes, of Brooklyn, has no priors arrests.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...-Hamilton-Township-Hit-and-Run-291164731.html

Woman Charged in Hamilton Township Hit-and-Run
By David Chang
Published at 6:34 PM EST on Feb 7, 2015

A woman was arrested in connection to a hit-and-run crash in Hamilton Township, New Jersey.

Carmen Rodriguez of Hamilton turned herself in to police Friday for a hit-and-run crash earlier in the week.

On Feb. 1, Donald Brocak, 63, of Hamilton, was walking northbound across East State Street near Victor Avenue around 6:12 p.m. when he was struck by Rodriguez's silver SUV traveling westbound on East State, investigators said. Rodriguez allegedly continued traveling westbound on East State into Trenton.

Brocak injured his right leg, right arm and face. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. Officials have not yet revealed his condition.

Rodriguez was taken into custody and charged with assault by auto, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving serious bodily harm, and several motor vehicle offenses. Her bail has been set at $8500 with a ten percent option.

Officials continue to investigate the crash. If you have any information on the incident please call the Hamilton Police Division at 609-581-4000.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/03/09/woman-involved-in-near-fatal-crash-wins-20m-but-may-not-see-money/

Woman involved in near-fatal crash wins $20M — but may not see money
By Laura Italiano
March 9, 2015 | 3:47am

A college student who suffered near-fatal brain trauma at the hands of a drunk driver on the Upper East Side has won a $20.4 million civil judgment — but may not see a cent.

Not only is the driver broke and the nightclub that served him out of business, but the club’s insurance company is using a technicality to get out of paying its share.

“I don’t know if I’m going to see any of it,” victim Diana Tafur told The Post of the judgment, awarded by a Manhattan judge in late February.

“Every second of every day, I’m fighting to eat, to get dressed,” she said, speaking with difficulty some nine years after her predawn accident at 84th Street and 1st Avenue.

The wheelchair-bound woman spoke from Lake Mary, Fla., where her parents must care for her 24/7.

Tafur was a 23-year-old waitress and aspiring doctor back in 2006 when the taxi she was riding in was struck by a careening BMW driven by Harzem Sendogan, manager of a Manhattan hair salon. Tafur was ejected from her cab’s back seat, and spent six months in a coma.

“She is mentally 95 percent there, fully aware of everything that goes on, but she’s suffering incredible difficulty physically,” said her lawyer, Samuel Davis.

Sendogan, then 29, had just snorted cocaine and tossed back seven or eight shots of Jack Daniel’s at the Home nightclub in Chelsea, when he blew a red light and rammed Tafur’s taxi, according to the criminal and civil cases against him. He pleaded guilty to DWI and vehicular assault and served two years prison.

Last month’s decision found Sendogan liable for 60 percent of the $20 million judgment, and the now-defunct nightclub liable for the other 40 percent.

Tafur’s lawyer concedes Sendogan is broke. Instead, he is focusing on collecting from the club.

But the club’s former owner, Jon Bakshi, is shielded from liability because Home was owned by a corporation, A-1 Entertainment, LLC. That should leave A-1’s insurance company, Indemnity Insurance Corporation, holding the bag. But the Delaware-based insurer, in a separate court case, says it won’t pay because Home voided its policy by continuing to serve alcohol after its 4 a.m. closing.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...-Crash-That-Killed-3-Relatives-297327091.html

Man Pleads Guilty in DWI Crash That Killed 3 Relatives
Published at 10:11 PM EDT on Mar 23, 2015

A northern New Jersey man who was driving drunk when he caused an accident that killed three relatives has pleaded guilty to numerous charges, including aggravated manslaughter.

Morris County prosecutors say 38-year-old Luis Torres, of Jersey City, also pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of vehicular homicide and five counts of assault by auto. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he's sentenced May 29

Prosecutors say Torres was driving home from a birthday-party barbecue when his sport utility vehicle overturned on Route 15 in Jefferson Township in August 2013.

Killed in the crash were Torres' mother-in-law, his 11-year-old stepdaughter and a niece who was five months pregnant. Torres and five other people in the SUV were injured, but all have since recovered.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/03/24/cyclist-injured-in-hit-and-run-police/

Off-duty MTA bus driver arrested after striking cyclist with car
By Larry Celona, Natasha Velez and Rebecca Harshbarger
March 24, 2015 | 1:44am

An off-duty city bus driver was collared by police for striking an auxiliary cop teen in a Manhattan crash and fleeing the scene, law-enforcement sources said.

MTA employee Edward Rivera, 45, hit Alex Guzman, 17, while he was bicycling on Lexington Avenue and East 105th Street with a 2011 Hyndai Accord about 2:40 p.m. Sunday, sources said.

Medics rushed Guzman to Harlem Hospital in serious condition, and police arrested Rivera several hours later.

Authorities charged the bus operator with reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

Guzman serves as an auxiliary cop at the 20th precinct on the Upper West Side.

The MTA has taken Rivera off the road while police investigate the hit-and-run crash

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...iver-in-deadly-hit-run-crash-in-juniata-park/

Police On The Hunt For Driver In Deadly Hit-Run Crash In Juniata Park
July 27, 2015 1:07 PM
By Steve Tawa

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia Police recovered the vehicle, but are still looking for the driver involved in a deadly hit and run crash Sunday night in the Juniata Park section.

A half dozen 9-1-1 calls alerted police to the crash at East Luzerne and “I” Streets.

“They followed the vehicle, and provided us with information.”

Accident Investigation District Captain John Wilczynski says witnesses saw one man get out of a 2008 gray Mitsubishi SUV. That vehicle was recovered at 9th Street and Rising Sun Avenue, taken back to the AID garage and dusted for prints and evidence.

“We’re looking to talk to Alberto Vangas. He’s the registered owner of that vehicle.”

The occupants in the other car, two brothers, were trapped and extracted. One of them died. The other had non-life threatening injuries.

“Early indication is that it may have been pulling out of a parking spot. It may have been trying to make a U-turn. We don’t know yet.’

Wilczynski says it’s possible that if the hit and run driver stopped, they may not have been charged. But since he fled, leaving the scene of a fatal accident could result in a three year prison sentence.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/09/07/driver-turns-self-in-after-fatally-running-over-disabled-woman/

Driver turns self in after fatally running over disabled woman
By Reuven Fenton and Daniel Prendergast
September 7, 2015 | 10:11am

Robert Medina and his sister Marlene Zotti.


The alleged hit-and-run driver who fatally struck a disabled Brooklyn woman returning from a trip to the grocery store turned himself in on Monday — and the victim’s brother said he will forgive the man because that’s what his sister would have wanted.

Marco Ortiz, 50, walked into the 66th Precinct station house Monday and told police he had been arguing with his wife moments before plowing his minivan into Marlene Zotti, 59, as she was crossing Ninth Avenue in Borough Park Sunday, sources said.

“I think it’s great,” Zotti’s brother, Robert Medina, said when told of the arrest. “Nobody is beyond forgiveness, and I do believe it was an accident, whether he was drunk or not.

“My sister will forgive him.”

Medina, 55, had taken his sister out to the ShopRite on McDonald Avenue at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, then headed home when she told him that she could make it back without his help.

Zotti, who was diabetic and used a walker, took a bus home before stepping into the path of Ortiz’s van at 12:30 a.m., cops said.

Ortiz allegedly told cops that he panicked after his vehicle struck Zotti and he fled rather than call for help, sources said.

But Medina took pity on Ortiz.

“He didn’t do it on purpose. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Medina said.

Ortiz was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, police said.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/10/11/drunk-driving-parolee-files-lawsuit-against-cop-who-shot-him/

Drunk-driving parolee files lawsuit against cop who shot him
By Kathianne Boniello
October 11, 2015 | 6:18am

A drunken parolee whose car careened through Brooklyn, jumping curbs and smashing cars, is suing the cop who shot him to stop the vehicular rampage.

Robert Ortiz of Brooklyn claims Officer James Hasper “without any cause or provocation whatsoever, used unreasonable and excessive force” when he shot Ortiz in the shoulder to end the July 10, 2014 incident, according to a Brooklyn federal court lawsuit.

Ortiz admits he was in violation of his parole, and had “consumed alcohol and marijuana” before getting behind the wheel of a friend’s Chevy Suburban and zipping down Rockaway Parkway in Canarsie.

When police tried to pull him over, he fled, hitting at least three cars in the process, riding the sidewalks and forcing pedestrians to dodge him, court records say. He eventually turned onto a dead-end street and crashed into a fire hydrant.

Ortiz, 39, who has more than two dozen arrests on his rap sheet and was on parole for criminal possession of stolen property, was surrounded by officers but hadn’t gotten out of the car when Hasper approached.

Ortiz was slapped with a variety of charges and is due in court Nov. 10.

The whiny parolee wants unspecified damages and claims Hasper’s actions were “not reasonable under the circumstances.”

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/10/30/woman-turns-self-in-for-hit-and-run-after-seeing-story-on-tv/

Woman turns self in for hit-and-run after seeing story on TV
By Kathleen Culliton
October 30, 2015 | 2:46am

After seeing herself on the TV news, a 50-year-old woman turned herself in Thursday for a hit-and-run collision in Queens that left an off-duty NYPD detective injured, police said.

Ellen Rivera-Moya struck the housing cop with her 2013 Nissan Rogue as he was crossing Cooper Avenue and 80th Street in Middle Village at about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, said cops, adding that she then fled the scene.

The officer suffered a head laceration and is in stable condition, officials said. Rivera-Moya was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.

 

[The Bobster]

Delaware Wrecks Leave 2 Dead, 1 Drunken Hispanic Arrested for DUI

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...eave-2-Dead-1-Arrested-for-DUI-343106302.html

Delaware Wrecks Leave 2 Dead, 1 Arrested for DUI
By Morgan Zalot
Published 4 hours ago

A DUI crash left a 69-year-old woman in Delaware dead and a 76-year-old man in critical condition Saturday night.

Police said Phyllis Kessler, 69, and Melvin Kessler, 76, both of Bear, were traveling in a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am on Route 40 at the ramp to northbound Route 1 in Bear at 10:22 p.m. when a 30-year-old man driving a 2005 Ford Expedition blew through a red light and slammed into the side of their car.

Phyllis Kessler died a short time after the crash at Christiana Hospital, police said. Melvin Kessler was also taken to Christiana Hospital, where he remained Sunday in critical but stable condition.

Police said the driver of the Ford, Cristobal Guzman-Martinez, was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash but walked away from the wreckage unscathed. Guzman-Martinez, of Wilmington, was arrested at the scene for driving under the influence, vehicular homicide, vehicle assault, driving without a license and no proof of insurance.

Delaware State Police are continuing to investigate the deadly crash.

Earlier Saturday night, police said, another deadly crash involving several vehicles claimed the life of a woman in Delaware.

In that crash, which happened on DuPont Boulevard south of West Robbins Road, just outside Ellendale, police said Cheryl Green, 56, was driving a 1993 Mercury Villager minivan southbound in the northbound lanes with no headlights just after 9 p.m. Because the van had no headlights on, police said, a 2001 Volkswagen Passat driven by Tristin Lowe, 49, of Pennsylvania, headed northbound on DuPont crashed into the front of the minivan in the left lane. Both vehicles spun out and came to rest on the road, police said, when a 2012 Audi Q7 driven by Peter Gray, 68, of Massachusetts, also northbound on DuPont, also crashed into the minivan.

Green, whom police said was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lowe was treated at Milford Memorial Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and released, and Gray was treated at BeeBe Medical Center and released, police said.

A crash in the southbound lanes of DuPont Boulevard caused when drivers slowed near the deadly crash also snarled traffic in the area, police said. No one suffered severe injuries in that secondary crash.

 

[The Bobster]

http://nypost.com/2015/12/07/driver-loses-control-of-car-dies-from-crash/

Driver loses control of car — dies from crash
By Kenneth Garger
December 7, 2015 | 2:48am

A 30-year-old driver was killed – and his passenger critically injured – after his car barreled into a cement pillar underneath a Queens highway Sunday night, cops said.

Jorge Bermudez lost control of his Honda Accord at the intersection of Laurel Hill Boulevard and 48th Street in Sunnyside just after 10:30 p.m.

The vehicle smashed into a parked vehicle and then a cement stanchion underneath the BQE before flipping over, police said.

The two men were taken to Elmurst Hospital, where Bermudez later died. The passenger is listed in critical condition.

The cause of the fatal wreck is still under investigation.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/4th-DUI-Elsmere-Jefferson-Ave-Marijuana-363547491.html

Driver Faces 4th DUI After Driving SUV With Weed in It Onto Delaware Lawn: Police
By Dan Stamm
Published 8 minutes ago

A Delaware driver faces his 4th DUI after police say he ran his sport utility vehicle onto someone’s lawn on Christmas.

Elsmere officers approached the Ford Explorer as it sat partially on a lawn along the 100 block of Jefferson Avenue on Christmas Day. They found Ramiro Lopez-Castillo behind the wheel.

Lopez-Castillo told the officers he had been drinking and he handed over the keys, said police.

The officers then found 22 grams of marijuana in the 38-year-old’s SUV.

Lopez-Castillo, who has three previous DUIs, faces another driving under the influence charge as well as careless driving and drug possession counts. Lopez-Castillo was jailed as he awaited arraignment.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...-Head-On-Crash-NJ-State-Police-369541391.html

Deadly Wrong-Way-DUI Wreck on NJ Highway
Published at 6:05 PM EST on Feb 20, 2016

A drunken driver traveling the wrong way on an interstate highway early Saturday morning crashed head-on with another vehicle, killing a New York City man. New Jersey state police said.

The accident on Interstate 80 in Saddle Brook occurred around 1:20 a.m.

A pickup truck driven by 32-year-old Paterson resident Mario Funes was westbound in an eastbound lane when he crashed into a car driven by another spic, 64-year-old Luis Feliz, of Yonkers, investigators said. The impact caused Feliz's car to overturn, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Funes apparently suffered minor injuries in the crash. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, and state police said criminal charges are pending.

There was no indication that Funes has retained a lawyer who could comment on the charges.

 

[The Bobster]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...-Run-That-Killed-Girl-7-Police-370630311.html

Girl, 7, Dies in Hit-&- Run, 2 Under Arrest: Police
By Brian Thompson
Published at 8:22 AM EST on Mar 1, 2016

Two people were arrested Monday night in the hit-and-run that killed a 7-year-old girl walking to school and seriously injured her mother in New Jersey, authorities said.

Johana Rosas-Alvarez, of Newark, and Fabian Calles, an undocumented immigrant , were arrested Monday night, authorities said, after police tracked the vehicle in the crash that killed Sheyla Pichardo to their home in Newark.

Pichardo was hit while walking at Van Buren Place and 61st Street in West New York at about 8:30 a.m., police said.

The SUV that hit the girl, a black Chevrolet Tahoe, took off afterward.

Surveillance footage from the scene shows the SUV hit the mother and daughter while they crossed a street. The driver gets out of the vehicle, looks at the girl and mother, then gets back in the vehicle and speeds off.

The girl was taken to Palisades Medical Center after the impact, authorities said. She was pronounced dead sometime afterward. The girl's mother was also taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

"My heart is destroyed with what happened to my daughter," said Javier Pichardo, the girl's father. "I didn't think this could happen to me or my wife."

Calles, who matched the description of the man seen getting out of the car after the crash, faces charges of endangering an injured victim, hindering apprehension, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury. Charges against Rosas-Alvarez weren't available.

Calles has a child, according to the woman's landlord.

Their arrests came as a memorial for Pichardo grows at the crash site. Several mourners, including family members and children have stopped by to pay their respects.

Attorney information for the suspects wasn't immediately available.

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...-charged-with-dwi-after-driving-car-into-bay/

Atlantic City Man Charged With DWI After Driving Car Into Bay
March 18, 2016 4:10 PM

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., (CBS) — Atlantic City police announced on Friday that a man is being charged with DWI after he drove his car into the bay.

Police say Juan Crespo, 23, drove his car into the bay in the early morning hours on Friday with a passenger in the vehicle.

Both were able to escape the car before it became fully submerged, officials say. The driver was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Crespo was charged with driving while intoxicated.

 

[The Bobster]

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2016/04/15/cops-arrest-made-in-port-richmond-hit-run/

Cops: Arrest Made In Port Richmond Hit-Run
April 15, 2016 10:19 AM

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Police say an arrest has been made in connection with a fatal hit-and-run in Port Richmond.

Authorities say 36-year-old Thomas Dunbar died after he was struck by vehicle at the intersection of Aramingo and Lehigh Avenues Wednesday night.

Police say Ramon M. Morales allegedly struck Dunbar and dragged him more than 200 feet before fleeing the scene.

Authorities located the striking vehicle about two hours after the incident.

On Thursday, Morales was taken into custody and charged with murder, accident involving death, homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter.