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Queens Man Indicted in Drugged-Up East Village Wreck, Prosecutors Say

By Claire Oliver | July 30, 2013 11:37am
 Shaun Martin, 32, of Bayside, is accused of driving drunk and possibly on drugs when he jumped a curb in the East Village and plowed into three pedestrians and a Citi Bike rider Wednesday, police said.
Bystanders Bloodied After Car Jumps Curb in East Village
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EAST VILLAGE — The allegedly drugged-up driver who jumped a curb in the East Village last month and injured four people, two seriously, was indicted Tuesday on aggravated vehicular assault and other charges.

Shaun Martin, 32, of Bayside, Queens, was speeding south on Second Avenue just before 7 a.m. June 19 when he lost control of his rented 2013 Nissan Altima and slammed into a bodega at the corner of East Fourth Street, leaving one of the bodega workers in a coma, prosecutors and police said.

In addition to aggravated vehicular assault, Martin was indicted Tuesday on charges of assault, driving while impaired and possession of a controlled substance.

Prosecutors said Martin was high on PCP and meth at the time of the crash, in which he took out a fire hydrant, a Muni Meter and East Village Grocery's flower stand before rear-ending a Citi Bike rider.

Although the bike rider only suffered minor injuries, two of East Village Grocery’s workers were seriously injured in the crash. Both broke several bones, and one, 62-year-old Akkas Ali, suffered serious brain trauma.

At the scene, Martin, who denied any drug or alcohol use, repeatedly asked police officers, "Am I dead?" prosecutors said in court papers. Before being transported to Bellevue Hospital, Martin told police, "If I killed anyone please just kill me now."

"This defendant is charged with seriously injuring pedestrians and destroying thousands of dollars’ worth of property due to his extraordinarily reckless behavior,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a statement.

Martin, who police said was discovered with a PCP stash in his sock, and his female passenger were not seriously injured.

Martin was previously released on $100,000 bail and will next appear in court Sept. 10.

His attorney declined to comment Tuesday.