[UPDATE BELOW] The driver suspected of plowing into a livery cab in Williamsburg early Sunday morning and killing a young married couple and their unborn child feels terrible, but hasn't turned himself in. (There are breaking reports that Julio Acevedo was arrested this morning in Brooklyn, but an NYPD spokesman tells us this is absolutely not correct and Acevedo is NOT in custody.) Yesterday a prison buddy of Acevedo's, Derrick Hamilton, told the Times that Acevedo had "called him at least four times since the crash, seeking guidance and advice." Hamilton insists Acevedo "has remorse. He wants to turn himself in. He said he came down that block, the cab turned and he didn’t even see it and he hit it."
Acevedo, 44, is suspected of fleeing the scene of the accident on foot, leaving Nathan and Raizy Glauber, both 21, for dead. Raizy was seven months pregnant, and her infant son was briefly saved through cesarean section, but subsequently died Monday morning. Police say the BMW Acevedo was driving was not registered to one Takia Walker, 29, of the Bronx. She was arrested and charged with insurance fraud yesterday; investigators tell the Wall Street Journal she "acquired the car under false pretense and allowed another person who was not insured to drive the 2010 grey BMW sedan."
Acevedo was arrested for drunk driving on February 17th and was released without bail. The Post reports that he previously did time for fatally shooting the original “50 Cent,” Brooklyn thug Kelvin Martin, the inspiration for rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s name. A witness at the scene of Sunday morning's accident picked his mug shot out of a photo lineup after Acevedo was connected to Walker.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the Times the BMW was traveling “at least 60 miles an hour when it hit the other vehicle.” According to Hamilton, Acevedo says he was fleeing someone who had fired a gun at him. The NYPD has been staking out the Brooklyn apartment he shares with his girlfriend, two children and two dogs, but Acevedo had not been seen since Sunday. A $22,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Update 1:28 p.m.: Acevedo's friend has been coordinating phone calls between the press and Acevedo today. The suspect now tells ABC 7 he is afraid to surrender, and in an interview with the Daily News, Acevedo says, “My heart goes out to them. I didn’t know they died until I saw the news. I was scared. I just got shot at."
