A Queens man who hit a stroller as he was backing out of a driveway last fall, killing a baby in the stroller, has been fined just $300 in the case, the Queens district attorney's office said.
Armando Morales Rodriguez of Queens pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to driving as an unlicensed operator, officials said. He was sentenced to pay a $300 fine.
He was ordered to participate in a 12-week attitude and dynamic driving program after authorities said Rodriguez could only be fined or sentenced to a maximum of 15 days in jail for the crime.
Officials said despite the severity of the situation, the crash wasn't a result of criminality, which is why the judge gave him a light punishment.
"No matter how tragic the incident and no matter how much sympathy we have for victims and their families, we cannot base a prosecution on those feelings," said Queens D.A. spokesman Kevin Ryan in a statement. "Some may disagree with that determination and it is their right to do so, but out oath requires us to follow the law and not the opinions of others however heartfelt those opinions may be."
Rodriguez was backing out of a driveway near Astoria Boulevard and 93rd Street in East Elmhurst on Oct. 28 when he hit the stroller with his van, authorities said.
Surveillance video shows the 8-month-old infant and his mother on the sidewalk moments before the stroller was hit. She had been carrying groceries back home from just five blocks away.
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"I feel bad, the mother is crying, 'Too much, stop, stop,'" said Ali, a gas station clerk who watched in horror as the white van backed over the stroller. "The mother is crying, 'Stop the van, stop the van,' and the guy's not listening."
The baby in the carriage, identified as Navraj Raju, was pronounced dead after being taken to Elmhurst Hospital. He was the younger of two children.
Neighbors said the driver is a mechanic who works on cars in an alleyway where the van was backing out.
"Where the van was backing out of, they work in there fixing their cars and stuff like that," said Carlos Lopez. "It's just a sad tragedy, an eight-month-old baby has been taken away in such a tragic accident."
