After being apprehended in Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Julio Acevedo, the suspect in the hit-and-run that killed a 21-year-old Hasidic couple and their baby, was taken back to New York, where he was charged with criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene, excessive speed, assault and reckless driving. District Attorney Charles Hynes said his office was bringing “the most serious crime available based on the facts, pending a further review of all forensics.” Acevedo, who is being held without bail, could be facing anywhere from fifteen years to life due to his prior record.
At the arraignment hearing, prosecutors said two witnesses saw Acevedo swerve around a fire truck and accelerate before he hit the livery cab taking expectant parents Raizy and Nathan Glauber to the hospital, according to the New York Times. The witnesses asked Acevedo if he was okay and he said he was fine. They went to check on the cab and “they then turned around and the defendant was gone.” Earlier this week, he said he fled “because I was scared from someone shooting at me,” but police say there were no reports of shots fired in the area.
Acevedo’s lawyer, Kathleen Julian, said the deaths were terrible, but, “It was an accident. Accidents happen every day.” She added that her client always planned to turn himself in. “He’s obviously heartbroken about what happened,” she said. “He feels terrible for the family.”
