By Shakira Sealey
The parents of the 4-year-old girl killed in a recent hit-and-run accident on the Upper West Side went to court on Tuesday seeking justice for their child.
“She was only four,” said the victim’s weeping father Allan Russo of his daughter Ariel who was struck down on June 4 at the corner of 97th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. “It’s not fair.”
Russo and his wife held a press conference after attending an appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court by the defendant in the case, Franklin Reyes, 17, who was accused of striking the girl with his SUV while fleeing from the police in a high-speed chase because he lacked a driver’s license.
The Russo family and their lawyer Sanford Rubenstein urged that Reyes receive the maximum sentence. new jordan Three months ago the Russos objected vehemently when the boyish defendant was granted bail.
“It’s so hard, so hard,” said the girl’s mother, Sophia. “I don’t know much about Reyes’ character but he hasn’t offered an apology.”
In the courtroom Judge Gregory Carro adjourned the case till November 6 while a probation report was prepared. Charges against the defendant were updated to manslaughter in the second degree for which he faces a maximum sentence of 5 to 15 years.
The Russo family was scheduled that evening to ask the local community board to rename the scene of the accident Ariel Russo Way to honor her memory.
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