25 Years To Life For Driver Who In Brooklyn Crash That Killed Expectant Parents
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A driver was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison Monday, after being convicted in a Brooklyn crash that killed a young couple expecting their first child two years ago.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported, the victims' emotional relatives were in court as Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge Neil Firettog sentenced Julio Acevedo, 46.
Prosecutors estimated Acevedo was going 70 mph when he smashed into a livery car, killing Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, in Williamsburg on March 3, 2013.
The young couple was expecting their first child and were on their way to the hospital when the livery cab was struck. They both died instantly.
The baby was delivered via Caesarean section after the crash, but died the following morning.
"There are no words that can adequately express the pain and anguish that we have endured in the last two years," said Nachman Glauber's mother, Henny Glauber.
Filling the courtroom, Nachman and Raizy Glauber's heartbroken families found some semblance of peace and justice at the sentencing hearing for Acevedo, a convicted felon with a long rap sheet.
"I am remorseful," Acevedo said when allowed to speak at the hearing. "It was an accident."
But a jury in February ruled that it was not an accident at all.
"How could you not see them? What were you doing?" said Brooklyn District Attorney Gayle Dampf. "Why were you speeding through the streets, and why didn't you stop to help?"
Prosecutors said Acevedo fled the scene and was on the run for three days — bolting to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, before surrendering to police.
The Glaubers' funeral drew thousands of Satmar Hasidic Jews to the streets of Brooklyn.
Since then, the ultra-Orthodox community where the victims were members has lobbied that Acevedo be deemed a "persistent felon," which would mean a maximum sentence for reckless manslaughter.
Acevedo has an extensive criminal history, including a 1987 conviction for manslaughter in a shooting death. He served 10 years, was sent back for a parole violation, and then was released in 1999. His parole expired in 2003. He also had a DWI arrest in February 2013.
Judge Firetog agreed to enhance Acevedo's sentence as a persistent felon.
"We won't have them back," Henny Glauber said. "But justice was served, so he doesn't go out, and he's not able to do these things to other people."
The DA said a "beautiful innocent family" lost their lives, and a "menace to society" will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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