Hit and run driver of a Rolls Royce who killed a beloved teacher in Brooklyn arrested

Last May, a man behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce fatally struck a pedestrian crossing  Bayard Street at the intersection of McGuiness Boulevard and sped away. The pedestrian was 58 year old Matthew  Jensen. He was a beloved teacher at PS 110 and the Greenpoint community was very moved by his death. After the accident (see previous blog). 

The negligent driver is a 30 year old FDNY EMT

The NYPD announced yesterday that they identified the hit-and-run driver as Tariq Witherspoon, a 30 year old FDNY EMT. They arrested him and charged him with speeding, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident and criminally negligent homicide.

When the accident occurred, Witherspoon was driving  a 2010 Black Rolls Royce Ghost that he borrowed from someone else. He was driving at around 50 mph in an area where the speed limit was 25 mph and never stopped after he struck the pedestrian.

Witherspoon has a history of reckless driving and is involved in 3 other car accident lawsuits in New York City

Whiterspoon has a history of reckless driving and has previously been named in 3 other Brooklyn car accident lawsuits. In 2015, he crashed into a car and seriously injured the driver with a 2011 Porsche that he borrowed from a friend. According to the lawsuit he was unlicensed at the time of the accident. In August 2017, he was driving a city vehicle when he struck a cyclist on Flushing Avenue. A lawsuit was filed against him and the city of New York. Earlier the same year, in March, Witherspoon was transporting a patient to a medical center in a city ambulance when he  crashed into a Mercedes and injured another person.

Whiterspoon who worked for the FDNY  EMT for 11 years was suspended without pay according to a statement released yesterday by the FDNY. He is due to appear in Court on April 27.

Read more in the Brooklyn Paper

Location of the fatal hit and run accident: courtesy of Google Map