By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The driver accused of killing award-winning film editor Karen Schmeer on the Upper West Side as he sped away from a robbery has been charged with murder, prosecutors said Thursday.
David McKie, 25, drove the getaway vehicle after he and two others allegedly robbed a CVS Pharmacy at W. 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on Jan. 29, prosecutors said.
When a store employee called police to report the vehicle's license plate, a police car tailed the getaway car as McKie allegedly sped through red lights before hitting another automobile and 39-year-old Schmeer.
After striking Schmeer, McKie tried to flee on foot but was tackled by a police officer, prosecutors said.
McKie claimed he was not driving the car, pointing the finger at alleged accomplice Christopher Torres, according to court papers released at McKie's arraignment Thursday.
"The cops started chasing us, but Chris kept going," McKie said in the documents. "I saw the lady trying to get out of the way, then the glass broke."
McKie's attorney, Matthew Myers, said he has a witness to corroborate McKie’s claim.
Myers said the murder charge is "really overreaching". He said McKie didn't directly cause Schmeer's death.
Torres and another man arrested in connection with the crime, Terrel Haskins, are awaiting Supreme Court arraignments.
Schmeer edited the Oscar-winning documentary "Fog of War."
