The driver who crashed into a Brooklyn family killing a three-month-old baby girl faces up to 15 years behind bars after he was booked for second-degree manslaughter, according to officials with Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez’s office.
A grand jury added the new top charge for 28-year-old Crown Heights resident Tyrik Mott on Friday, Sept. 17, whom police and prosecutors had previously only accused of trying to steal a car to escape the fatal collision on Sept. 2, as Streetsblog reported.
Mott allegedly drove the wrong way down the Clinton Hill street and smashed into another driver, whose vehicle jumped the curb and hit and killed 3-month-old Apolline Guillemin being pushed in a stroller by her mother on the evening of Sept. 11.
The crash critically injured the 33-year-old mom and a 36-year-old man, but both are in stable condition.
Before the crash, cops had chased Mott for breaking a red light at a “high rate of speed,” but lost sight of him, according to a police spokesperson.
“Officers observed this vehicle run a red light at a high rate of speed. Officers turned around in an attempt to stop the vehicle. Officers lost sight of the vehicle,” said the NYPD’s press office in an emailed statement.
Mott’s car with Pennsylvania plates had racked up a staggering 160 traffic violations since mid-2017, 91 of them for speeding in school zones.
He was previously arrested in February for driving without a valid license, but a judge reportedly let him off the hook on the condition that he stay out of trouble.
Safe street advocates, including friends and family of people killed by drivers, held a protest and vigils with “ghost strollers” in Manhattan last week to commemorate the infant’s death, demanding Mayor Bill de Blasio act to keep motorists with such a long record of reckless driving off the streets.
Mott will be arraigned at Brooklyn Supreme Court likely some time in October, according to Brooklyn DA spokesman Oren Yaniv.
The defendant faces a maximum of five to 15 years in prison for the new felony charge, according to the rep.
A lawyer for Mott did not respond for comment by press time.
Additional reporting by Ben Brachfeld
