The man allegedly behind the wheel of a minivan that sped away from cops, jumped a curb and killed a beloved Harlem nun was arrested yesterday — but the bust was no consolation for the Columbia Law grad whose mugging sparked the tragedy.
“If I’d decided to leave five minutes early or five minutes later, it could have changed the course of events,” Krishan Thakker, 21, who was robbed of his backpack at gunpoint, told The Post. “I’m still in shock over it all. I had difficulty sleeping last night. I couldn’t get much work done.”
Police said the suspect, Dyson Williams, slid behind the wheel of a Chrysler Pacifica after cops arrested the original driver, 18-year-old William Robbins, when they spotted the vehicle on Lenox Avenue Tuesday.
As the getaway vehicle sped from cops, it collided with another minivan and spun across the wide avenue’s median, striking a crowd of people. Among them was Sister Mary Celine Graham, 84, who died.
Williams was charged with murder; Robbins with robbery.
“I feel personally very sorry for the victim’s family,” said Thakker, who was on his way from a bar-exam class when his backpack was stolen. “My heartfelt apologies go out to them. I feel like I was part of the same incident that killed the nun. It’s terrible.”
Graham was on her way to a physical therapy appointment with her home-health aide, Patricia Cruz, when they were mowed down. Cruz and a third pedestrian, Steven Phan, remain at Harlem Hospital.
Police initially believed a third robber escaped the minivan crash, but yesterday said only two suspects were involved.
Additional
reporting
by Perry Chiaramonte and Jamie Schram