Traffic Expert Disputes Police Version of Hit-and-Run

By ALVARO BLANCO & SHANNYCE LASHLEY

A traffic expert testifying for the defense in the hit-and-run incident that killed a young couple and their unborn child in March 2013 said that detectives got the speed of the defendant’s car wrong.

Julio Acevedo, 46, was accused of manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident after the BMW that he was driving collided with a livery cab that was carrying Nachman and Raizel Glauber, both 21, and their unborn baby.

“The BMW was going 40 miles per hour and the Toyota (carrying the victims) did not stop,” said Frederick Wipte, an expert in car crashes with 25 years experience.

“The Toyota was driving at 11.6 miles per hour before the yield sign,” Wipte added in Brooklyn Supreme Court. “After that it slowed down to 5 miles per hour and after the yield sign at the point of impact, it was driving at 6.2 miles per hour.” The defense indicated that the Toyota had accelerated just before the point of impact.

The prosecution contends that the defendant was going 60 mph and that the driver of the Toyota stopped at the intersection.

He told the court that two factors showed that the BMW was not speeding: the front wheels of the BMW were not locked so they were able to turn and the spin of the Toyota as it was hit. “Police did not account for how the spin of the Toyota affected the speed,” said Wipte.

Assistant District Attorney Gayle Dampf argued that the prosecution did not have enough time to review the evidence given by the witness.

If found guilty, Acevedo could face life in prison.