DNAinfo covers the public outcry to the dismissal of tickets against the driver in a fatal crash, and the DMV’s reaction, in the tragic case of Allie Liao, whose parents Hsi-Pei and Amy Tam Liao chose attorney Steve Vaccaro to represent them.
FLUSHING — A judge tossed out two tickets given to a driver who struck and killed a young girl as she walked with her grandmother, despite dramatic video showing the accident unfolding, according to the victim’s lawyer.
The revelation, more than a year after the fatal crash, sparked outrage among Allison Liao‘s family.
Ahmad Abu-Zayedeh made a left turn onto Main Street at Cherry Avenue in Flushing on Oct. 6, 2013, striking the 3-year-old Allison and her grandmother Chin Hua Liao as they walked across the street, according to the NYPD and court documents.
Allison was rushed to New York Hospital Queens, where she was pronounced dead. Her grandmother was also injured in the crash.
Abu-Zayedeh remained on the scene and was not charged. However, he was hit with two tickets — failure to yield and failure to use due care.
The Liao family filed a civil suit against him in March at Brooklyn Supreme Court, where Abu-Zayedeh lives, citing his negligience.
But while looking into the case this week, they discovered that a DMV judge had dismissed Abu-Zayedeh’s tickets in July.
“Just found out today that the DMV drop the two tickets for failure to yield and failure to use due care, for the driver who ran over my daughters HEAD!!!!!!!! I’m pissed!!!!!!!” Alison’s dad, Hsi-Pei Liao, wrote on his Facebook page.
“People can look at it themselves and make a decision about how a judge could possibly determine that the driver was not guilty of failing to yield to a pedestrian and failure to use due care,” Vaccaro said.
For the full report, visit here: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20141107/flushing/driver-who-killed-3-year-old-gets-tickets-tossed-out-by-dmv-judge/