Brooklyn hit-and-run suspect faces life sentence over pregnant couple’s death
A BMW driven by Julio Acevedo, 46, slammed into the cab bringing Nachman and a pregnant Raizel Glauber to the hospital as it crossed an intersection along Kent Ave. in Williamsburg in March 2013. Prosecutors are under pressure as Acevedo’s trial begins on Monday.
BY OREN YANIV
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, February 2, 2015, 5:58 AM
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Julio Acevedo (left) is the suspected driver of the BMW that plowed into expectant Brooklyn parents Nachman and Raizel Glauber (right), killing them both on March 3, 2013.
It was a horrific hit-and-run — a BMW barreling down a Brooklyn street slammed into a cab carrying a young couple who were expecting their first child.
The driver, Julio Acevedo, who surrendered to police after four desperate days on the run, will go on trial starting Monday.
Because of prior felony convictions, the 46-year-old defendant could face a life sentence if found guilty of reckless manslaughter or leaving the scene of an accident. And the publicity around the case coupled with the victims’ politically connected Satmar Hasidic community adds pressure on prosecutors.
Just after midnight on March 3, 2013, Nachman and Raizel Glauber, who was seven months pregnant, were riding in a livery cab to the hospital. As the cab eased into an intersection along Kent Ave. in Williamsburg, it was T-boned by a car driven by Acevedo. The couple, both 21, instantly died. Their baby died hours later.
MARC A. HERMANN/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSThe BMW slammed into the cab carrying the Glaubers on Kent Ave. & Wilson St. in March 2013. Acevedo is suspected of fleeing the scene after the incident.
Prosecutors contend Acevedo was driving over 60 mph — twice the legal limit — accelerated after passing on a solid yellow line, and then couldn’t stop when the cab inched into the intersection.
“It’s his whole behavior,” said a law enforcement source.
Acevedo’s defense will try to minimize his liability, noting that the cabbie was the one who had the stop sign. But it will have a harder time fighting the leaving-the-scene rap.
JESSE WARD/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSThe 46-year-old (right, with his attorney Scott Brettschneider in May 2014) faces a life sentence as he goes on trial Monday.
Acevedo’s past explanation was that he fled due to a deeply rooted distrust of the authorities. He was convicted of a 1987 murder, with the government withholding the fact that a collaborator confirmed Acevedo’s defense that he was forced to kill his friend.
The conviction was overturned a decade later and, awaiting a new trial, he robbed a dice game. A judge offered a plea to both the manslaughter and robbery charges for time served — and Acevedo jumped at the deal.
That decision may come back to haunt him: The convictions for violent felonies mean he can get between 12 to life and 20 to life if found guilty now.
“He’s facing all these enhancements because of things that happened two decades ago,” said his lawyer, Scott Brettschneider.
