FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 20, 2015
Brooklyn Man Convicted Of Manslaughter In Fatal Crash That Left Newlywed Couple and Their Premature Infant Dead
Jury Found Defendant Acted Recklessly in Speeding on Williamsburg Streets, Crashing Into Livery Cab in Which Couple Was Riding
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a 46-year-old Brooklyn man has been convicted of second-degree manslaughter and other charges in connection with a fatal incident in Williamsburg in 2013 when he crashed his vehicle into a livery cab in which a young couple was riding, then fled the scene.
The District Attorney said, “A beautiful innocent family lost their lives because Julio Acevedo chose to drive recklessly on the streets of Brooklyn. This was a tragedy. Almost two years later we were able to get justice. We are grateful to the jury for following the evidence and holding Julio Acevedo accountable.”
The District Attorney said that the defendant, Julio Acevedo, 46, of Brooklyn, was convicted last night of two counts of second-degree manslaughter, one count of criminally negligent homicide and two counts of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting following a jury trial before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog, who set sentencing for March 18, 2015. The defendant faces up to 15 years in prison on the top count, but could face up to life in prison because of his prior criminal history.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, at approximately 12:15 a.m., on March 3, 2013, Acevedo, who was driving a BMW, was traveling at approximately 70 miles per hour northbound on Kent Avenue when he crashed into a livery cab traveling westbound on Wilson Avenue, being driven by Pedro Nunez-Delacruz. The livery cab was easing into the intersection after passing a stop sign when it was struck. Backseat passengers Nathan Glauber, 21, and his wife, Raizy, also 21, who was seven-months pregnant, were killed. Their son, Tanchem, was delivered alive, but died the next day. The cab driver suffered minor injuries.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, Acevedo jumped out of his car after crashing into the livery cab, observed the carnage and then fled the scene. He was arrested by the New York City Police Department’s Warrant Squad in Pennsylvania on March 7, 2013.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Gayle M. Dampf, Chief of the District Attorney’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Timothy Gough, Chief of the District Attorney’s Grey Zone Bureau.