By Nathan Duke
The wife and daughters of a security guard who emigrated to Jamaica from Bangladesh said their lives had been crushed after he was fatally struck last week while crossing the Whitestone Expressway.
The vehicle had been operated by Manhattan’s Harley Greenfield, 65, the chief executive officer of Manhattan’s Jennifer Convertibles furniture company, police said. Greenfield was charged with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, which is a violation, the New York Post reported.
Mohammad Rohman, 45, was killed as he attempted to walk across the Whitestone Expressway around 10:45 p.m. on April 14, police said. The security guard, who lived on 168th Street with his wife and two daughters, ages 6 and 12, had been crossing the roadway to get something to eat while working a double shift, family members said.
“My husband died, I lost my husband,” wailed Rawshan Ara Begam, Rohman’s wife, during a memorial service Friday at the Jamaica Muslim Center on 168th Street. “I have two kids and I don’t work.”
Family members said Rohman had worked the extra shift to save up enough money to buy a house for his family.
“I keep thinking of all the good memories I have of my father,” said Marjana Rohman, 12, the security guard’s older daughter. “I wish this never happened, that I could have my father here today.”
Greenfield was driving his 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt along the southbound lane of the expressway when he struck Rohman, police said. He was charged with operating a motor vehicle while being impaired by alcohol, which is punishable by a fine, police said. But the defendant was not found to be legally drunk, the Post reported.
Rohman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The defendant allegedly refused to take a Breathalyzer test following the accident, police said.
Hundreds of people lined up in front of the Jamaica Muslim Center and along the sidewalk on 168th Street for the memorial, which was delivered over a loudspeaker.
Paul Khan, Rohman’s cousin, said he expected as many as 2,000 people to attend the service. The family did not believe the charges against Greenfield went far enough.
“He killed her husband and killed the dream of their family,” Khan said of Begam. “They want to know why he drove drunk. He’s a very rich man. Why couldn’t he have hired someone to drive him?”
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
