BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | (Originally posted May 29, 2015) Police say the suspect in the Beekman St. hit and run accident last month may have been under the influence of marijuana.
Tiffany Murdaugh, 34, was arrested on Tues., May 19 for an incident that seriously injured Heather Hensl, a 37-year-old mother who was walking to work when she was struck on the sidewalk. Hensl has been unable to walk without crutches and a brace and, at one time, feared that the investigation would be dropped.
“Obviously, [this] was a very serious case and there was a lot of outrage,” said Captain Mark Iocco of the First Precinct. “We were happy finally getting [Murdaugh] to come in.”
While the police had been able to identify the plates of the car, witnesses could not positively identify the driver because the car, a 2013 white Dodge Challenger, has tinted windows. Also, as Murdaugh lives in New Jersey, there were jurisdiction issues.
The crash, which happened Monday morning, April 13, occurred near Spruce Street School during morning drop-off — parents and the community alike were angry over the case and the lack of an arrest.
A Spruce Street School parent and Community Board 1 Chairperson Catherine McVay Hughes expressed thanks that an arrest had been made at the First Precinct Community Council meeting on Thurs., May 28.
The precinct had trouble contacting Murdaugh, Iocco said, and had been working with the insurance companies. In a written statement to the insurance companies, Murdaugh had written that she was the one driving the car that day, he said. The police ended up finding her on social media.
“She ended up answering our detectives back,” said Iocco. “We told her we were investigating the insurance claim and she came in. We asked her to write a statement. She probably didn’t want to contradict herself so she wrote here also that she was the only one driving the vehicle — which then we don’t need the positive ID and she was arrested.”
Iocco was asked if a video — viewed by Downtown Express that showed the driver backing up several times to maneuver enough room to drive on the sidewalk to pass traffic — had played a role in the arrest.
Iocco said he didn’t think it had as “the first thing the detective squad did is ask to her to write a statement about her whereabouts that day in Manhattan. She didn’t admit to an accident, but she did admit to being the only one driver of the vehicle.”
Murdaugh, who was arraigned on May 20, is out on bail charged with assault, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident. Her next court appearance is Aug. 25. Her lawyer, Lamar Miller, did not immediately return a call for comment.
According to the complaint from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office, she was shown the video and identified her car in it.
“She made a verbal statement that she was smoking marijuana maybe — maybe she blacked out,” said Iocco. “The bottom line the D.A. was very positive going forward with this case.”
