FORT GREENE — A driver, who had been cited for speeding through school zones three times last month, was arraigned Monday, one day after his truck hopped a curb, fatally striking a woman and injuring two others, police and court documents said.
Marlon Sewell, 39, who was previously arrested in March for driving without a license, was heading east on Fulton Street with his wife about 5:26 p.m. when he swerved right to avoid another vehicle in front of him and then swerved again to avoid a bus, went up onto the sidewalk near South Portland Place and hit three passersby, according to NYPD officials and court documents.
Marlon Sewell crashed his SUV in Fort Greene, killing a woman, police said. (DNAinfo/Jim Flood)
Victoria Nicodemus, 30, of Brooklyn Heights, was knocked to the ground where she lay in pool of blood, video shows. A 37-year-old man who was with her and also hit tried to help in the immediate aftermath, witnesses said.
"[He] was face down on his forearms, crawling to her," said Xiomara Morgan, who works at a cafe near the crash.
"He was in shock. He had no emotion. He saw her lying there and knew he had to console her, but there was nothing to console," Morgan added.
Nicodemus was pronounced dead at Brooklyn Hospital, police said.
Blood still stained the street a day after a woman was fatally struck in Fort Greene. (DNAinfo/Rachelle Blidner)
The man who was hit and a 75-year-old woman, were listed in stable condition at the same hospital, police said. An NYPD spokeswoman did not know if there was any relationship between the victims.
Sewell, a 39-year-old from Brownsville, was visibly shaken after the crash, witnesses said.
"He looked like he was in shock. He had a shirt and was covering his face. He looked like he couldn't believe what happened. He just lifted his shirt over his head," said Robyn English.
"He kept saying, 'Oh my God, Oh my God,'" Robyn added.
Sewell began crying as he sat on the back of his truck next to the woman who'd been in it with him during the crash, witnesses said.
Marlon Sewell was released without bail after being arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court Monday night. (DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg)
He later told an officer at the precinct that his vehicle had a carbon monoxide leak, which made sometimes made him lightheaded, prosecutors said during his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court Monday night.
Sewell, who was recently laid off from a job cleaning rental cars at an airport and has six children, had also fallen behind on child support payments, the assistant district attorney added.
Sewell was arrested and charged with driving without a license or insurance, police said.
He had previously been arrested in March for driving without a license, an NYPD spokeswoman said.
He got six tickets totaling $450 for sticker violations between Aug. 8 and Nov. 17, Department of Finance records show.
He was then cited for speeding through school zones on Nov. 18, 19 and 24, records show.
Sewell was released without bail. He did not answer reporters' questions after leaving court with several family members.
He is due back in court on Jan. 11.
