A Brooklyn man was arrested after running over a Holocaust survivor and killing him, police said Thursday.
Yosef Luban, 27, was cruising westbound on Avenue J in Midwood about 7:45 p.m. Wednesday when 82-year-old Moshe Adler, a rabbi, stepped into the crosswalk at E. Ninth St., police said.
Luban plowed into the octogenarian, who was visiting from Hungary, with his 2008 Honda sedan - tossing him into the street, cops and witnesses said.
"He crossed quickly to avoid the bus and that's when the car hit him," said Isaac Grossman, 47, who had just dropped the elderly man off across the street. "He didn't see the car coming."
Adler was taken to Lutheran Hospital, where he died hours later.
"I feel very sad that Rabbi Adler had to go this way," said his long-time friend Chana Lowy, 62. "We're going to miss him terribly."
Luban, who lives blocks away from the deadly crash, was later arrested and charged with driving without a license.
Still, Adler's friends expressed sympathy for Luban.
"I feel terrible for the driver," Lowy said. "The driver probably didn't see him and \[Adler\] couldn't move quickly.
he was not visiting from hungary he left romania in 1945 as a teenager. he lives in jerusalem since.
ReplyDeleteHis charges were dropped almost immediately. It was a mistake in the license records.
ReplyDeleteHis license was suspended for unpaid tickets NOT due to neglagent driving. It turned out he had paid the tickets and his charges were dropped immediately.
The reason the deceased family was sympathetic was because the Rav was in poor health and crossing against the light while wearing all black clothing (making him very difficult to see).
This seems like a case where the news failed to report all the facts.