On June 4th, 2021, 65-year-old actress Lisa Banes was hit by Brian Boyd, 26, as he rode on a scooter. He had no driver’s license, and the scooter was unregistered. Boyd fled the scene.
Banes died from a traumatic brain injury after being in a coma for ten days.
Boyd was eventually apprehended and charged with second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and failure of a driver to exercise due care. He faced fifteen years in prison.
Boyd was given a plea bargain from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, even though he did not show remorse. In fact, the judge threatened to throw out the plea deal when Boyd began downplaying the incident in court. Justice Gregory Carro stated, “You know what? I’ll give you your plea back. You want to go to trial?”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now under intense criticism for his leniency. In 2022, his office has reduced over half of all felony charges to misdemeanors.
Yesterday, Boyd received his wrist slap. In exchange for pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter, he received a sentence of one to three years.
