A Far Rockaway woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a man on a sidewalk who was seated on a walker and unable to get out of her way in 2022.
Kiani Phoenix, 29, of Beach Channel Drive, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the death of 59-year-old Milton Storch on Oct. 9 in full satisfaction of the charges against her, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Monday.
According to the charges, on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 27, Phoenix first encountered a 27-year-old woman at the deli on Beach 20th Street near New Haven Avenue. The two women got into a heated argument that escalated into a physical altercation near a parked Honda Accord. Several onlookers watched the brawl, including Storch, who was resting on his walker with his back against the deli wall. Several people attempted to separate the women, and they stopped striking each other.
Video surveillance showed Phoenix jumping into the driver’s seat of the Honda Accord, putting it in reverse, and then turning sharply to the right, allegedly at and toward the intended target, accelerating forward onto the sidewalk. The defendant then drove forward, striking Storch, who was unable to rise off his walker, according to the charges. The car stopped and accelerated in reverse, hitting a 36-year-old pedestrian behind the car. Phoenix drove off, heading west on New Haven Avenue.
EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed Storch to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The second man was taken to the same hospital and treated for back and hip injuries, prosecutors said. The woman involved in the physical altercation was not injured in the collision. Phoenix was arrested and booked at the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway on Aug. 29.
“Kiani Phoenix made the deadly decision to get behind the wheel and aim her vehicle at another woman to settle their dispute,” Katz said. “Tragically, an innocent man seated on a walker could not escape her path and lost her life.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced Phoenix to 18 years in prison on Friday, Oct. 7, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
“We cannot undo what happened,” Katz said. “But hopefully this sentence brings a measure of comfort to Milton Storch’s loved ones as they continue to mourn his loss.”
