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A Florida truck driver charged in connection with a fatal Upper East Side hit-and-run last Friday was granted supervised release at his arraignment — a decision that has left the victim’s family outraged.
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Vincent Spano, 33, of Palm Harbor, Florida, was released by Judge Jeffrey Gershuny at Manhattan Criminal Court late Friday after turning himself in earlier that morning at the NYPD’s 76th Precinct in Brooklyn. He is due back in court on May 6.Spano is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash and failure to exercise due care in the death of Terrill Jenkins, 44, of Harlem.
According to a criminal complaint, Spano was operating a dark green-and-red oil truck, backing it through the intersection of East 61st Street and Lexington Avenue around 4:45 a.m. Friday when the vehicle struck Jenkins, who was in the crosswalk. Spano then pulled the truck forward, parked it, got out to check on Jenkins, and drove away. The complaint states Spano admitted he realized he had struck someone and saw the injured man before leaving the scene.
Jenkins was just three blocks from the First Avenue Home Depot where he worked when he was hit. After the crash, he was able to call his coworkers before losing and regaining consciousness, but they couldn’t locate him in time. He was eventually found by a passerby, who called 911. EMS transported Jenkins to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he died approximately three hours later.
His family told the Daily News the driver’s conduct was inexcusable. “He thought about himself and didn’t do the moral thing,” said Jenkins’ cousin, Peter Mulligan III. “He was driving in reverse. Why are you going fast? No matter how big the truck is, I’m backing up extra cautious.”
Jenkins had worked at the Home Depot for eight years and had just received a certificate marking the milestone last month. He typically left for work around 3:30 a.m. His mother, Evelyn Jenkins, said he always texted her when he arrived. “He always texts me. He always does,” she said. That morning, she didn’t hear from him — and before she had a chance to wonder why, she got the call.
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The family said Jenkins’ death has been especially devastating for his mother, who lost her other son to pneumonia in the 1990s when he was 19. “Terrill and his mother went through that together, leaned on each other, just them two,” his uncle, Peter Mulligan, said.Jenkins’ family is also demanding to see surveillance footage of the incident. “We want to see the video, exactly what took place,” his uncle said. They are equally troubled by Spano’s release. “They released him… I don’t understand why they would release him, especially without bail,” the uncle said. “Especially since they said he was from Florida. He could be on the next bus or train to Florida and we wouldn’t see him again.”
“He didn’t bother anybody. He just worked,” the cousin said of Jenkins. “He went through what he went through, persevered with his mom and stayed out of the way living his life. This is a proud family. Very hardworking. Did everything the right way.”
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