BY COLIN MIXSON AND KEVIN DUGGAN
Police arrested a Rego Park teenager on Wednesday on a laundry list of charges nearly two weeks after he blew through a red light in Midwood and killed a Park Slope cyclist.
Officers cuffed 18-year-old Mirza Baig on felony charges including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, assault, criminal solicitation and reckless driving, according to police.
Cops also slapped Mirza with several moving violations, including disobeying a traffic device and speeding, authorities said.
Mirza was driving southbound on Coney Island Avenue behind the wheel of a Dodge Charger when he ran a red light at Avenue L and T-boned another car heading east at 12:27 p.m. on Aug. 11, according to police.
The second vehicle then violently slammed into 52-year-old Park Slope cyclist Jose Alzorriz, killing him, cops said.
Investigators quickly obtained harrowing footage showed both Mirza running a red light and the other vehicle crushing Alzorriz from multiple angles, but police declined to immediately charge the Queens resident, and the decision to allow him to walk free drew condemnation from safe street advocates and local politicians.
Mayor Bill de Blasio demanded the driver’s arrest, saying the video footage should be more than enough evidence to press charges.
“He just blows right through a red light and you know, kills someone. Of course, there should be numerous charges right now,” de Blasio told Errol Louis on Inside City Hall. “I’m not a lawyer but I’d say it should be a serious, serious charge with many years in prison.”
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes vowed to work with legal experts and cycling advocates to strengthen laws surrounding reckless driving in response to Alzorriz’s death and Mirza’s subsequent release from police custody, saying current laws aren’t strong enough to ensure bad drivers are held to task.
“I’m concerned about cases like this that have extreme reckless behavior where the law clearly has a gap in coverage,” said Gounardes.
Mirza is expected to be arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun at around noon today.
