A Long Island City man with a criminal history is facing charges after he ran over a teenager who he believed was throwing eggs on Halloween night, according to a police source and the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Witnesses told police that Keith Richard, 50, drove his gray Dodge Caravan onto the sidewalk near 23rd Street and Jackson Avenue around 8:20 p.m. on Tuesday, gunning for a group of teens who were allegedly throwing eggs, prosecutors said. As the teens scattered, Christopher Miraba, 17, ran across Jackson Avenue in an attempt to get away from Richard’s car, but he was ultimately struck, they said.
Richard backed the Caravan up and deliberately ran over Miraba again, then put the vehicle in drive and hit him a third time before fleeing down the block, according to the district attorney’s office.
Richard got about a half a block away before he stopped. When witnesses caught up to him, he allegedly told them, “That’s what happens,” referencing the purported egging, prosecutors said.
Miraba was severely injured in the attack and was in stable condition Thursday afternoon, police said.
“A young man lies seriously injured in the hospital with multiple fractures to his skull, spine, pelvis and right leg, as well as bruising to his lungs, allegedly due to the actions of the defendant who chose to use his vehicle as a weapon to settle a minor dispute with a group of young individuals,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in an emailed statement.
The attack happened just hours after a lone-wolf terrorist mowed down over a dozen people on the West Side Highway bike path in Manhattan, police said. Eight people were killed and the suspect, Sayfullo Saipov, was shot and taken into police custody. He’s charged with providing material support to ISIS, and violence and destruction of a motor vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
Richard was charged with attempted murder, assault, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting serious physical injury and reckless driving, the district attorney’s office said. He has 19 prior arrests dating to when he was 16, per a police source.
A request for comment from the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Richard, was not immediately returned.
