Man who allegedly chased teen girl into traffic now faces 19 charges
A Queens man accused of chasing a terrified teen into oncoming traffic — where she was hit by a car — now faces 19 charges after being indicted by a grand jury.
Kevin Ramtahal, 23, could spend up to seven years behind bars after the Queens District Attorney’s office brought the fresh list of raps, including more serious felony counts like assault in the second degree.
A grand jury handed up the indictment, but Queens Supreme Court Judge John Zoll on Monday told the court he wouldn’t officially charge Ramtahal until he had undergone a psychiatric evaluation.
Ramtahal was originally handed misdemeanor charges including reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child — infuriating the victim’s firefighter dad, who argued that he would likely walk free on those low-level charges once new bail-reform laws go into effect Jan. 1.
Dad Omar Wilks, who is black, accused prosecutors of acting like members of the Klu Klux Klan.
A law enforcement source told The Post the harsher charges would keep Ramtahal behind bars.
Zoll also remanded Ramtahal in custody Monday. The man’s parents told prosecutors their son was schizophrenic and homeless — his mother is “afraid to have him in the house,” Assistant District Attorney Kevin Ramnarain told the court.
Ramtahal was busted for allegedly shouting “I’m coming for you!” at Wilks’ daughter Amara, 14, as she walked to school in Richmond Hill on the morning of Dec. 6. The terrified teen ran into traffic and was hit by a car, suffering serious leg injuries.
Her dad, who is a firefighter with Engine 294 in Queens, responded to what he believed was a routine accident — only to find it was his own daughter bleeding on the ground.
Despite getting the charges he wanted, Wilks still railed against authorities outside court after the arraignment — accusing cops of trying to close the case on the day Amara was attacked.
“What happened in there is not progress,” the man told reporters. “We want complete justice.”
An NYPD spokeswoman confirmed detectives arrested Ramtahal on Dec. 12 but did not respond to the father’s allegations about the investigation being closed.
Additional reporting by Tina Moore