Lisa Banes – photo by T. Charles Erickson via The Huntington on Flickr
Brian Boyd, the 26-year-old man who was arrested in August for causing the death of actress Lisa Banes in June, was indicted in New York Supreme Court on Monday with three new charges.
Boyd was originally charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and failure to yield to a pedestrian. He’s now facing additional charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminal negligent homicide, and failure of a driver to exercise due care. Boyd pleaded not guilty.
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Boyd is currently being held with a bail amount of $30,000, while also being ordered not to operate any motorized vehicles.
If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison.
The incident took place on June 4. After Boyd reportedly passed through a red light at 64th and Amsterdam Avenue and struck Banes while on a motorized scooter, the 65-year-old actress was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead ten days later.
Police said that Banes had the right of way, and that Boyd did not stop after striking her.
On June 16, local leaders held a press conference on the street where the tragedy took place to promote new legislation designed to increase the penalties for leaving the scene of an accident while operating a motorized scooter. The bills are currently being reviewed.
“Up to” 7 years after the typical, but always troubling “not guilty” plea is not nearly long enough. How about estimating how many more years would be typical for her to have lived, and proceed from there. This is sad for her, and dangerous for all of us, “going forward.” Stop enabling sociopathic behavior!
Phoebe, from your mouth to God’s ear, one can hope. Having just been looking at longevity figures, actuarial tables list life expectancy for a non-smoking female of 65 years to almost 85 or thereabouts. So, per your Solomonic suggestion, suspect Boyd, if found guilty of the charges, should be sentenced to at least 20 years. Still seems light
considering all the people, besides the victim, and her family and loved ones who have suffered from her being taken from them too soon and so horribly.
And now the NYPD is making a real effort in the West 60s and West 70s to stop scooter drivers who run reds through crosswalks full of pedestrians. /s