Immigrant gets prison for killing 2 in NYC crash

Thursday, September 10, 2009 - Added 7h ago


NEW YORK - A drunken driver who slammed into a New York City livery cab and killed two people has been sentenced to 3½ to 10½ years in prison. The wreck came after he was ordered deported and charged in a deadly beating.

Defense lawyer Russell Rothberg says Daryush (dahr-YOOSH’) Omar apologized during sentencing Wednesday in Queens. The 25-year-old Omar pleaded guilty last month to vehicular manslaughter.

The Nov. 16 crash killed cab driver Bessy Velasquez and Panayiota Demetriou (pah-nay-OH’-tuh dehm-EE’-tree’-yoo), a graduate psychology student from Cyprus.

A 2006 Manhattan murder case against Omar has stalled but remains open. He was ordered deported in 2005, but authorities were unable to remove him amid questions about whether he was a Pakistani or Afghan citizen.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/nation ... 0&srvc=rss