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Brooklyn DA: Investigation into Crash is Ongoing

A horrific crash claimed the life of Rabbi Yekutiel Rapp OBM earlier this week and stunned the community. The graphic description of the crash left many wondering why the driver was not charged with a crime.

Witnesses and surveillance video reveal that the 55-year-old livery cab driver, who works for Bedstar Car Services located on the block where the crash occurred, backed up and ran over the victim, then repeatedly reversed and went forward, dragging him as much as 10 feet before finally coming to a stop.

Rescue workers, including Shomrim volunteers and firefighters, had to free the victim from underneath the vehicle before Hatzalah and EMS was able to rush him to nearby Kings County Hospital while performing CPR.

Many concerned residents voiced their frustration that the driver was never charged with a crime. “[I] wonder if the driver had intent, like the recent car “accidents” in [Israel] R’L” wrote one reader.

Officers and detectives from the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad collected evidence from the scene, including measurements and photographs as well as surveillance video from nearby businesses and apartment buildings.

Sources said that rather than make an arrest that the district attorney may decline to prosecute, they turned over all evidence to the district attorney’s investigation unit who will then decide if to charge the driver with a crime.

CrownHeights.info reached out to the district attorney’s office, their response was that the investigation is still ongoing. Sources said that due to the extended holiday weekend it is very unlikely that we will hear any updates before Monday.

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25 Comments

  • someone who was there

    If you would have seen the footage you would go crazy. I can’t believe thay are not charging him yet.

    • COMPLAINING IS NOT ENOUGH!

      their is a meeting being arranged between the community and the NYPD( (to be announced), any concerned member of the community must show up, to show them,that we are concerned about the accident,and will make sure it’s treated with the proper severity!

  • smh

    I’m sure if it was a jew who ran over a black kid there would be a riot and the jew would be long in jail

  • If opposite were to happen

    If an opposete scenario were to happen, the streets of CH would be burning like in the riots. Just goes to show the difference between us and the racist muggers who attack us day and night.

  • Driver

    Backing into him accidentally is one thing. But don’t tell me the driver didn’t hear screaming, probably thumping on his car. He reversed & drove forward I believe 3 times. At the very least his license should be revoked permanently, even before it goes to trial – which it should.

  • moishe mendle

    it was an accident!!! give this man the benefit of the doubt…..if you are so righteous, you would not be so hostile

  • Jim M.

    Moishe Mendle, you CANNOT be serious.
    You are treating this death like a joke.
    Shame on you.

  • Rrt

    The driver is not a murderer and certainly didn’t have intent of killing anybody. The driver panicked and isn’t very bright he should lose his license for eternity but he’s not a criminal.

  • wwd

    just notice that sometimes victims become the one who are blamed. sound familiar at all?

    • replying..

      Wow, your nice to say “sometimes”. i’ll add all the time, especially when the peron is %100 right!

  • althrough this was an acc

    and yes we are very hurt by it,it could be the man was on meds or something,and not all there,my heart goes out ot the rapp family

  • Home land Security

    Should look into it even for small suspicious matters they advertise we should call them. so everyone call.
    After all the victim was a major activists of שלימות הארץ so he may have been a high interest target for terrorists.

  • i wonder

    if the driver was texting at the time. how else do you not see a person standing right there?!

  • NYPD Should Be Investigated

    No Breath test? No drug test? No confiscation of cell phone to see if texting while driving? Internal Affairs should open investigation on the NYPD who CHOSE not to do their jobs they are sworn to uphold.

  • to # 4

    what you wrote here is true, but over here in this story it is a black guy who ran over a jewish guy (not a jewish kid (it was a adult who got runned over, not a kid)), don’t you think that they would say that for that we should not have to riot ?? we should all still riot!! let’s all riot!!

  • HELP

    Most of the above comments are simply STUPID!!!!!! What happened was a tragedy beyond words, and its hard to come to terms with it, but quite obviously the driver was not out to kill someone. This needs to be investigated by the proper “experienced” authorities and most certainly will be. Regardless of the drivers situation at the time he should be sued for negligence if nothing else. Let’s not start accusing of ridiculous things and make fools of yourselves.

  • Would my past similar experience with a Bedstar driver at that corner be of interest to the 71st Precinct?

    There seems to be a habitual pattern of the Bedstar driver(s) backing out of a parking spot on Empire Blvd. adjacent to the corner of Balfour there, without adequately looking.

    A few years ago I pulled out of the Empire Kosher parking lot and drove straight to go onto Balfour. There was no traffic in either direction ON EMPIRE BLVD. When I had nearly cleared Empire and was partly on Balfour, WHAM! A Bedstar car backed into the back side panel of my car (on the driver’s side).

    I really think this driver was not paying attention, or it had not occurred to him that a car might enter Balfour from the Empire Kosher parking lot; it seemed as if he figured that if he didn’t see anyone turning onto Balfour from Empire Blvd., he didn’t need to look in any other direction.

    But when I heard about the horrific events that took Rabbi Rapp’s (A”H) life, my mind immediately raced back to this incident.

    Should I call the 71st? No report to the police was made of this incident because damage was extremely minimal and my car’s an old beat-up klunker anyway. I also didn’t report it because I was not 100% sure that I absolutely, definitely had the right of way in this situation (though I don’t see any reason why I didn’t have the right of way there), and I was afraid if I called the police, I might get a moving violation (though for what, I do not know).

    But it sure did shake me up, and I’d think that the drivers for Bedstar should have learned something from incidents like these; I’ll bet mine (minor) and Rabbi Rapp’s (tortured and fatal, R”L) were not the only ones in all of the years the Bedstar has been on Empire Blvd.