THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2005

D.A. BROWN: BROOKLYN MAN CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER AND FLEEING THE SCENE OF FIERY HIT-AND-RUN CRASH THAT CLAIMED CABDRIVER’S LIFE

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that a 27-year-old Brooklyn man who claimed that the family-owned minivan involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident earlier this week in Richmond Hill – in which a yellow cab driver lost his life – had been stolen has now been charged with manslaughter, fleeing the scene of an accident and other charges in connection with the incident.

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Freddy Ramlochan, of 2070 Dean Street in Brooklyn, the stepson of the registered owner of the minivan who lives in Jamaica, Queens. Ramlochan, who is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, has been charged with Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree (Vasean’s Law), Criminal Negligent Homicide, Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs, Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting/Personal Injury, Falsely Reporting an Incident in the Third Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

District Attorney Brown said, “It is alleged that the defendant was under the influence of alcohol and traveling at a high rate of speed when he ran through a red light and broadsided the victim’s cab, setting it afire. While the cab was burning and the victim was trapped inside, the defendant allegedly fled the scene without calling for help. By his alleged actions, the defendant displayed a wanton and reckless disregard for life that clearly illustrated the lethal consequences resulting from driving while intoxicated. People should remember, particularly during this holiday season, that a car is a weapon and, like a gun, can kill – unless it is in responsible hands.”

The District Attorney said that according to the charges at approximately 1:00 a.m. on December 26, 2005, the defendant was operating a blue 2000 Chevy Astro minivan eastbound on Rockaway Boulevard when he allegedly drove through a steady red light at a speed in excess of 60 miles per hour in a posted 30 miles per hour speed zone and plowed into the driver’s door of a yellow Ford Crown Victoria cab being driven south on 114th Street by 40-year-old Gurbaj Singh. The yellow cab burst into flames almost on impact, trapping Singh who was pronounced dead at the scene. Singh was off duty at the time and the only occupant in the cab. The defendant allegedly fled the scene and thereafter claimed that the minivan had been stolen prior to the accident.

District Attorney Brown said that it is additionally alleged that an unloaded .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun was found in the minivan and that the defendant had bloodshot, watery eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. It is further alleges that on December 26, 2005 at approximately 3:00 a.m. the defendant falsely informed police that he had called 911 and reported the minivan had been stolen between 10:30 p.m. on December 25, 2005 and 2:00 a.m. on December 26, 2005.

Assistant District Attorney Travis W. Hunter of the District Attorney’s Homicide Investigations Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Peter T. Reese, Bureau Chief, Peter J. McCormack III, Deputy Bureau Chief, and Richard B. Schaeffer, Senior Trial Attorney, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.

It should be noted that a criminal complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.