The man accused of fatally running over a successful film editor after robbing an Upper West Side drug store in January insists he wasn't behind the wheel. David McKie admits he saw editor Karen Schmeer try to jump out of the way of the speeding getaway car but claims he wasn't driving. According to the Daily News, McKie told cops just before the accident "he closed his eyes and heard breaking glass." McKie and two accomplices had just robbed over-the-counter allergy medicine from a local CVS, and ran several red lights before killing Schmeer.
One cop who joined the chase identified McKie as the driver, but he claims it was accomplice Christopher Torres who was driving the Dodge Avenger sedan. He's pleading not guilty to murder and theft charges related to the tragic accident, which left the thieves' booty—Zyrtec packets—strewn up and down the street.
Schmeer, who was called "one of the greatest editors of her generation," edited many of Errol Morris's films, including The Fog of War; Fast, Cheap and Out of Control; and Standard Operating Procedure. She was 39 on the day she was killed crossing West 90th Street with her groceries.
