Week of Feb 23

“He Killed My Baby and He Left Her”

Lakita Vance’s voice broke as she spoke. Her daughter, Imani, was gone. Killed in a crash that should never have happened. Left in the front seat of a wrecked Mercedes while the driver fled.

“He killed my baby and he left her,” she said. NY Daily News.

Imani Vance was 26. She had dreams of becoming a nurse. She worked three jobs—at a hospital, at Starbucks, as a security officer. She had just moved back to New York. She was full of life. “Imani was a beautiful person. She brightened up every room she walked in,” her mother said. NY Daily News.

Now, her family is planning her funeral. “We gonna end up having to bury a 26-year-old person that was full of life,” said her cousin, Latasha Vance. “Everybody loved her.” NY Daily News.

A Driver Who Shouldn’t Have Been on the Road

Tyree Epps was behind the wheel. He was unlicensed. He had been caught driving without a license before. The system let him go.

On February 27, he sped through a stop sign in Brownsville. His Mercedes slammed into a school bus, sending it crashing into a parked truck. Then he ran. He got into a taxi and disappeared. He left Imani behind, dying in the front seat. NY Daily News.

Police caught him later. He is charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. But none of it should have happened.

Epps had been arrested for driving without a license just months before. Why was he still on the road? Why does New York allow repeat offenders to keep driving until they kill? NY Daily News.

A City That Refuses to Learn

Imani is not the first. She will not be the last. Unlicensed drivers kill again and again. The city knows this. It does nothing.

At least 10 people have died in Brooklyn traffic crashes this year. The numbers do not change. The policies do not change. The deaths keep coming. Gothamist.

“My life is never gonna be the same,” Lakita Vance said. “I just hope my heart is not gonna stop, because of the stress.” NY Daily News.

No More Excuses

New York must stop letting reckless, unlicensed drivers back on the road. It must close the loopholes that allow repeat offenders to keep driving until they kill. New York Post.

Mayor Adams and city leaders must act now—before another family is shattered.

Imani Vance should be alive. She should be chasing her dreams. She should not be another name in a growing list of victims.

Take action now. Because if the city won’t stop this, who will?

← Another Cyclist Dead. Another Family Shattered. NYC Knew—And Did Nothing. He Crossed. He Died. The City Shrugged. →

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