Day: September 16, 2024

SECOND GENTLEMAN DOUGLAS EMHOFF is expected to be in Williamsburg on Wednesday evening for a campaign fundraiser.

The post Brooklyn-born Emhoff will be in borough Wednesday for Harris campaign bash appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

A Long Island man will spend 15 years behind bars for driving recklessly under the influence of drugs and causing a wrong-way collision that left a woman paralyzed from the neck down in East Williamsburg three years ago.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Eugene Guarino sentenced Virgilio Rodriguez, 51, of Rockville Centre, to 7 to 15 years following his conviction on charges of aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault, and driving while impaired by drugs. A jury found Rodriguez found guilty on Aug. 2.

Prosecutors said Rodriguez was driving a Ford F-150 truck in East Williamsburg on Nov. 6, 2021, when he ran a red light and turned onto Bushwick Place, a one-way street, driving the wrong way. Rodriguez’s vehicle then collided head-on with an Uber, pushing both vehicles onto the sidewalk and into a building.

After the crash, Rodriguez exited his truck and stripped naked in the street, shouting, “I’m alive,” before fleeing the scene. He was later apprehended by police after returning. Officers found PCP and marijuana in his truck and said they observed signs of drug impairment.

At the police precinct, Rodriguez reportedly stripped down to his underwear, chanted, crawled on the ground, and attempted to climb his cell bars.

Further investigation revealed Rodriguez was driving with a revoked license at the time of the incident.

The Uber driver and two passengers were transported to Elmhurst Hospital. One of the passenger, a 28-year-old woman, was critically injured, underwent emergency spinal surgery, and was later transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she spent months on a ventilator and received a tracheostomy. She remains in need of continuous medical care.

The second passenger, a 27-year-old woman, and the 39-year-old Uber driver sustained minor injuries.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez condemned Rodriguez’s actions, stating, “This defendant’s reckless decision to drive while under the influence of drugs forever altered the life of a young woman, leaving her with catastrophic injuries and a lifetime of challenges. His actions that night were a threat to everyone on the road, and his callous disregard for the law and for human life has left a family devastated.”

“My office is deeply committed to pursuing justice for victims and ensuring that drug-impaired drivers are held accountable,” he added.