By The newspaper
Jun 18, 2024, 00:47 AM EDT
Layla Adredini was sentenced to 20 years in prison for driving her truck up a sidewalk chasing a man, but instead fatally ran over an elderly woman who was sitting in Brooklyn (NYC).
Brenda Ann Whidbee was a 70-year-old grandmother and community leader. The accident happened on Pacific St on August 24, 2021 when Adredini “deliberately drove on the sidewalk in an attempt to hit a 50-year-old acquaintance” around 9:20 p.m., according to evidence presented at trial.
Adredini, 33, of Stuyvesant Heights, was sentenced Thursday after being found guilty of murder and attempted murder on May 23, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement.
Aboard his white 2003 Ford Explorer, Adredini did not manage to run over the man who was his target, but rather Whidbee, who was sitting outside his house. After her accident, the driver tried to flee from her, but the neighborhood residents managed to stop her, she recalled. NBC News.
The victim was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. “Today’s sentence holds this defendant responsible for her shocking and depraved actions that cost an innocent woman the life,” said prosecutor González. “While nothing can bring Brenda Ann Whidbee back to her family and friends, I hope this sentence offers them some comfort.”
It is not clear who the man Adredini sought to run over was or why. Traffic accidents are a big challenge in New York and in many cases drivers flee. This despite “Vision Zero,” a road safety plan created in 2014 by then-new Mayor Bill de Blasio, who promised to make the city safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists with a goal of zero deaths. for this year 2024.
The authorities remember that there is zero tolerance for drivers who drive at excess speed and/or under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Cyclists and motorcyclists are also frequent protagonists of road accidents, as victims and perpetrators, when riding on sidewalks, disrespecting traffic lights and even the direction of the streets.
Last week an 86-year-old man was tragically killed when he was hit by a city Department of Transportation (DOT) truck in broad daylight in Brooklyn.
In May, a 71-year-old Puerto Rican grandmother died after being hit by a driver fleeing the police in Brooklyn (NYC). She left the scene by getting on the subway and has not been arrested. Her daughter was injured. Ironically, just hours before, Governor Kathy Hochul had signed the so-called Sammy’s Law that reduces the speed limit to 20 mph and even 10 mph on some streets in the five boroughs of NYC to protect pedestrians. So far this year more than 40 people have been run over in the city.
In December, Governor Hochul signed “Angelica’s Law,” intended to keep drivers with prior suspensions off the road by charging repeat offenders who operate vehicles after committing five or more traffic violations that resulted in suspensions with felony charges. or revocations.
- 2024 is the deadliest year on New York asphalt since the creation of Vision Zero to prevent deaths