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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Prosecutors drop DWI charge against motorist who fatally plowed into Yeshiva teacher


Prosecutors dropped a drunken-driving rap against a man accused of speeding through a red light and killing a beloved Brooklyn Yeshiva teacher, court papers show.

Brooklyn prosecutors said Thursday there was no evidence to charge Anel Kolenovic with DWI - even though cops had initially booked him on that charge.

Kolenovic, 23, was held on $200,000 bail following his arraignment Wednesday in the wreck killed Moshe Berkowitz.

He was arraigned on charges of assault, criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving, excessive speed and ignoring a traffic signal, court papers show.

Officials from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said cops gave Kolenovic a Breathalyzer test about three hours after the deadly crash. His blood-alcohol level was 0.02, well below the legal limit of 0.08, the officials said.

Additional charges are possible, however, since prosecutors have yet to receive the results of a toxicology test done on a sample of blood taken from Kolenovic after the crash, the officials added.

Berkowitz, 25, was driving home from a night of bowling with friends Monday night when Kolenovic's Volkswagen Passat slammed into his car on Ocean Ave. in Midwood, police said.

Berkowitz, who taught middle school English at Yeshiva Birchas Shmuel, was rushed by ambulance to a local hospital, but couldn't be saved.

Kolenovic was driving about 45 mph when he blew through a red light at the intersection of Ocean Ave. and Ave. N, court papers show.

Kolenovic told cops that the light had not yet turned red and that he had trouble stopping because his car's tires were bald, according to the court papers.

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