Queens Family Still Waits for Justice in Traffic Death

On a snowy morning in a desolate part of Queens, the family and friends of Allison Liao gathered in a small hearing room on the second floor of the department of Motor Vehicles. This hearing was about whether driver Ahmed Abu-Zayedeh's license would be revoked for running over and killing 3-year-old Allison in a Flushing crosswalk in October 2013.

It was the first time the family had been in the same room with Abu-Zayedeh. Last year, Queens D.A. Richard Brown decided against bringing criminal charges in the case because, he said, the crash didn't meet the state's stringent criteria for prosecution. And at a hearing in July that did not include the Liaos — they said they weren't told about it — a traffic court judge took less than a minute to dismiss a pair of moving violations against the driver.

Allison's mother Amy admitted beforehand to being nervous about being in the same room as Abu-Zayedeh. "I have gone over in my mind a thousand times what I want to say to him," she said. "It's not all pleasant."

But Amy did not get to speak. Only witnesses and police officers were allowed to testify. Abu-Zayedeh, a slight, bespectacled man in a black turtleneck and a dark coat, sat in the front row. Through his lawyer, he said he would not testify.

Allison's grandmother told the court what happened that October afternoon. She was holding the little girl's hand as they crossed Main Street in Flushing. Speaking through a translator, she described how she and Allison had the light but still looked both ways. She said that as they reached the middle of the crosswalk, an SUV hit them. Her voice choking, she added, "My granddaughter, my granddaughter and me, we fell to the ground."

There is a videotape that corroborates her testimony. It was recorded by a car that was not involved in the crash, but happened to be approaching when it occurred. NYPD Detective Rino Mitacchione, who performed the collision investigation, described what is shown on the tape: "A Nissan Murano was driving eastbound on Cherry Avenue and then makes a left turn onto Northbound Main street, striking the child, knocking her onto the pavement, running over her with the driver's side front and rear tires."  

The hard-boiled detective then sharply drew in his breath, recalling the image. That was followed by a long pause as the judge allowed his testimony to sink in.  Then he asked to see the video, twice. 

Lawyers then argued about whether the court should see evidence that Abu-Zayedeh's license had been revoked in New Jersey, and that he was drinking before the fatal crash. (A police report says he was not over the legal limit.) The judge ruled that evidence inadmissible. He then ended the hearing, saying he'd deliver his ruling in the future.

In the hallway afterward, Hsi-Pei Liao, Allison's father, held his 5-month-old son Aidan. Asked for comment, he broke down, recalling all the family has been through since the death, including the lack of criminal prosecution and the dismissal of moving violations against the driver.

"Our family should be rebuilding," Hsi-Pei sobbed, "not fighting for our daughter’s justice. To go through a process to find out we can’t get the D.A. to prosecute, to find out the tickets get dismissed, to find out today we still have to wait for a decision."

Even then, Amy added, revoking a license is "such a small thing compared to what happened to our family." The decision on whether Abu-Zayedeh can continue to drive could come at any time.