Will Suspect In Fatal Brooklyn Hit-And-Run Crash Surrender?
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The convicted felon wanted in the heartbreaking hit-and-run crash that killed a Brooklyn family said Tuesday he is considering surrendering.
But as of 11 p.m., there was no word of surrender from the suspect – 44-year-old Julio Acevedo, CBS 2's Dick Brennan reported.
Police said Tuesday night that there was no deal for Acevedo to give himself up, and they are still seeking to arrest him.
In fact, police said they have had no dialogue with his attorney.
As CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported, police identified Acevedo as the driver on Monday. They said he was going at least 60 mph early Sunday morning when his BMW collided with a livery cab carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, at Kent Avenue and Wilson Street in Williamsburg.
Acevedo then fled the scene, police said.
Report: Suspect In Fatal Brooklyn Hit-And-Run Crash Thinking About Surrendering
The crash killed the couple instantly. Their baby boy, who was delivered by emergency Cesarean section after the crash, died around 5:30 a.m. Monday, community leader Isaac Abraham said.
Members of the Hasidic Jewish community gathered outside the police precinct to await Acevedo's surrender, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
Acevedo is only charged with leaving the scene of an accident, but some in the community want to see manslaughter charges added.
"This guy has a long history. He was in jail for 10 years I think, for manslaughter. I don't think a guy like this should be out on the street," a man named Moishe told Diamond.
Two and a half days after the crash, CBS 2 spoke with a first responder who had just dropped off dashboard camera video of the scene to police early Sunday morning.
"The only thing if I might have (Acevedo) on camera, it would be my camera seeing him walking away," the first responder said.
But police said so far, they have found nothing on pictures or tapes, or any evidence that Acevedo returned to the crash scene.
Still, Acevedo is no longer in hiding. In a telephone interview with the New York Daily News Tuesday, he was quoted as saying, "I didn't know they died until I saw the news."
Police Continue Hunt For Driver In Fatal Hit-and-Run
As for why he fled the scene, he said, "(I) was scared of someone shooting at me. I was scared I just got shot at."
The report also said Acevedo was reaching out to a lawyer before turning himself in.
Acevedo was arrested last month on a charge of driving while under the influence, and the case is pending.
He was convicted for manslaughter in 1987, along with drug and robbery charges. After serving 10 years, he was sent back to jail for a parole violation and then released in 1999.
He is believed to live with family in the Farragut Houses development in Brooklyn, but a knock on the door went unanswered Monday evening.
But since Acevedo told the Daily News he is ready to surrender, members of the tight-knit Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, stopped by the 90th Precinct all day to urge him to do so.
"I'm not interested in seeing his face. I saw his face already," said one community member, Moishe. "I just want to make sure that justice will be served, and he's never going to come out of prison."
Many other people in the Orthodox community likewise said it is time Acevedo gives up.
"You've got to come in and do the right thing, and that's it," said Abe Neuwirth of Williamsburg.
Police haven't actually said whether Acevedo was at fault for the accident. The livery cab had a stop sign, but it's not clear if the driver stopped.
Police said the crash with the BMW reduced the cab to a crumpled heap, and Raizy Glauber was thrown from the wreck. The engine ended up in the back seat, Abraham said.
The driver of the livery cab, Pedro Nunez Delacruz, was knocked unconscious but was not seriously hurt. His vehicle should not have been sent to pick up the passengers because an application to use the Toyota as a livery cab had not yet been approved, the city Taxi and Limousine Commission said.
But the Orthodox community said it hardly matters.
"The mood in the neighborhood is very heavy,'' said Oscar Sabel, a retired printer who lives near the scene of the accident. "We all hoped the baby would survive.''
The baby weighed only about 4 pounds when he was delivered, neighbors and friends said. He died of extreme prematurity, the city Medical Examiner's Office said.
"If he would have stayed alive, he would have been in memory and a little reminder to the grandparents of his parents," Abraham said. "And now that little boy has been torn away as well."
"But it's what God wants,'' Sabel said. "Maybe the baby's death, and his parents', is not for nothing; God doesn't have to give us answers.''
The baby was buried near the fresh graves of his parents, according to Abraham. About 1,000 community members turned out for the young couple's funeral a day earlier.
"This was God's will, and we accept it," said Raizy Glauber's brother, Joseph Silverstein. "There's nothing more we can say."
How Acevedo came to possess the BMW is also under investigation. The registered owner, Takia Walker, was arrested on insurance fraud charges Sunday in a scam involving the car, police said. She was not involved in the crash.
Abraham said he is calling on prosecutors to charge the driver of the BMW with triple homicide.
"This coward left the scene of the accident not even bothering to check on the people of the other car," he said.
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