Driver in fatal NYC pedicab hit-and-run released without bail
A Connecticut motorist accused of hitting and killing a pedicab driver in Manhattan was released without bail Sunday — despite prosecutors’ request that he be held on bond.
Mario Sagastumme-Gonzalez, 50, of Stamford, faces manslaughter, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident charges after police said he struck the pedicab, ran over the driver and sped away from the scene Friday.
Prosecutors asked that Sagastumme-Gonzalez be held on $250,000 bail or $750,000 bond, but Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Lisa Headley instead ordered supervised release, the District Attorney’s Office said Monday.
The conditions require him to check in regularly with the court and make at least one in-person visit per week, according to records.
Sagastumme-Gonzalez was allegedly speeding in his black Toyota pickup truck and driving against traffic in the bike lane around 11:10 p.m. Friday when he rear-ended Ibrokhim Azizov’s pedicab, according to a criminal complaint.
Surveillance footage from the crash at East 42nd Street and Madison Avenue showed him driving “well in excess of the speed limit” before he hit the pedicab, the complaint said.
“I further state that the defendant admitted to me that the defendant was the driver of the vehicle, that he was driving at a high rate of speed, that he knew he hit someone and that he fled the scene,” the arresting officer said in the complaint.
The collision sent Azizov flying to the ground, with Sagastumme-Gonzalez then allegedly driving the truck over the injured man and fleeing the scene.
The complaint says the pickup truck then crashed into a pole and Sagastumme-Gonzalez allegedly fled — only to have cops catch up with him at his home.
Azizov was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
Three passengers in the pedicab, including two 14-year-old girls, suffered minor injuries in the incident, according to police.
Sagastumme-Gonzales refused to comment to The Post as he left Manhattan Criminal Court after his arraignment Sunday.
He is due to return to court on Sept. 13, according to court records.
