By Jeremy Walsh
A bill to penalize drivers who leave their idling cars unattended on the street was signed into law today by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, capping off the efforts of the family of the Middle Village teenager whose death inspired the legislation and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village).
The bill, which increases the fine for people who leave their cars running while unattended from $5 to $250, was Crowley’s first piece of legislation. It was inspired in part by 16-year-old Robert Ogle, who was struck and killed in Middle Village Feb. 1 along with his friend, Brooklyn resident Alex Paul, by an allegedly drunk driver in a car stolen from in front of a bodega nearby.
“Leaving your car running and unattended seems like a minor, careless mistake, but all New Yorkers must understand that it is irresponsible, dangerous and potentially deadly,” Crowley said in a statement.
Crowley, Robert’s family and Council Transportation Committee Chairman John Liu (D-Flushing) are launching an awareness campaign to prevent people from leaving their cars running while unattended.
Liu has said that another impetus for the bill was a January incident in Chinatown, when a delivery driver accidentally left his van in reverse. The vehicle mounted a sidewalk, ramming into a group of preschool students, killing two of them.
Robert’s father was present for most phases of the bill’s development.
“I know too well that an unattended and running car can become a deadly weapon,” he told the Council at a hearing last month. “It is necessary to increase the awareness and penalties for people who are careless with their personal property because money talks.”
Robert was a football player at Brooklyn Technical High School and a volunteer at the Queens Hall of Science. He was walking home with Paul, 20, from a friend’s birthday party early in the morning when he was struck by a silver Kia police said was driven by Kenneth Guyear, 27, who allegedly stole it while its driver was inside a bodega.
Robert was pronounced dead at the scene. Paul died later at Elmhurst Hospital.
Guyear’s blood-alcohol level was more than triple the legal limit when he was arrested, the Queens district attorney’s office said.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
