Up To 7 Years For Queens Man Who Hit, Killed Roadway Worker
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Queens man has been sentenced to up to seven years in prison, after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of a worker on the Grand Central Parkway last summer.
Queens Supreme Court Judge Dorothy Chin-Brandt sentenced Abdullah Munshi, 26, on Tuesday.
Munshi had pleaded guilty in January in the death of Frank Avino, 63, in July 2012. After his release from prison, he will also have to install an ignition interlock device on any car he owns or operates for up to five years.
Authorities said Munshi had been speeding in his Audi on the Grand Central Parkway in the early morning hours on that day.
A construction vehicle with its arrow light flashing indicated a lane closing and that motorists should shift over to the center lane. Avino was behind the construction vehicle, putting out orange safety cones.
Authorities said Munshi hit Avino, sending the worker into the windshield and then onto the construction vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police at the scene said Munshi had the odor of alcohol on his breath.
"We had an individual who we tested for alcohol and was determined to be drunk, driving that car that hit a worker that was under contract for the Department of Transportation to do electrical work on the road," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told WCBS 880 at the time.
Munshi later was unable to produce a valid driver's license and admitted to authorities he had been drinking.
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