The parents of a 3-year-old New York girl killed in a crosswalk were outraged this week when they learned the motorist who struck their daughter can re-apply for his driver's license within 30 days of having it suspended.
Allison died after being hit while crossing the street with her grandmother on the afternoon of October 6, 2013. Getting Abu-Zayedeh's license suspended after he hit and killed Allison was tough enough. Initially, Zayedeh was only issued two citations of $150 each. Allison's parents, Amy Tam-Liao and Hsi-Pei Liao, fought for months to have his driver's license suspended. However, Abu-Zayedeh will be able to reapply for his license, since he was not found criminally negligent at the time of the crash, despite the fact Allison was killed in a crosswalk and had the right of away at the time of the accident.
"No amount of time would be satisfactory to me," Ms. Tam-Liao told The New York Times. "We lost our child. To hear that it was 30 days was beyond upsetting."
New York precedence makes it very difficult to prosecute pedestrian deaths at the hands of careless drivers. A state precedent known as the "rule of two" stipulates a driver must commit two traffic misdemeanors when a pedestrian or cyclist is struck for prosecutors to bring a charge of criminal negligence. And because the rule of two is a precedence and not an actual law, the standard isn't evenly enforced in the courts.
Allison died after being hit while crossing the street with her grandmother on the afternoon of October 6, 2013. Getting Abu-Zayedeh's license suspended after he hit and killed Allison was tough enough. Initially, Zayedeh was only issued two citations of $150 each. Allison's parents, Amy Tam-Liao and Hsi-Pei Liao, fought for months to have his driver's license suspended. However, Abu-Zayedeh will be able to reapply for his license, since he was not found criminally negligent at the time of the crash, despite the fact Allison was killed in a crosswalk and had the right of away at the time of the accident.
"No amount of time would be satisfactory to me," Ms. Tam-Liao told The New York Times. "We lost our child. To hear that it was 30 days was beyond upsetting."
New York precedence makes it very difficult to prosecute pedestrian deaths at the hands of careless drivers. A state precedent known as the "rule of two" stipulates a driver must commit two traffic misdemeanors when a pedestrian or cyclist is struck for prosecutors to bring a charge of criminal negligence. And because the rule of two is a precedence and not an actual law, the standard isn't evenly enforced in the courts.
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