The Staten Island man accused in a fatal hit-and-run crash shaved his wild beard and sported a jarringly clean-cut look look during his first courtroom appearance this morning.
About a dozen family and friends surrounded suspect Brian McGurk, 40, as he entered and left his initial appearance before Criminal Court Judge Desmond Green.
McGurk was completely clean shaven and wore a navy pinstripe suit, white shirt and tie — a stark contrast to the outrageous, eye-catching beard he was rocking Thursday, when the postal employee fatally struck Clara Almazo, 58, on Cary Avenue and then allegedly drove off.
McGurk surrendered to cops a day later.
Defense lawyer Matthew Zuntag and his client declined to answer questions as they left court.
Zuntag didn’t deny his client hit Almazo, but called it an accident and insisted the woman would have died even if McGurk had alerted cops immediately.
“Whether Brian stopped his car or not Mrs. Almazo would have died,” Zuntag said in a prepared statement. “It is important here to realize that Brian did do the right thing. He went to the precinct as soon as he was physically able to do so.”
Zuntag said his client has no criminal record and is a lifelong Staten Island resident. The lawyer insisted McGurk did nothing wrong.
“Indeed, Mrs. Almazo’s death is not the issue here — it is whether or not Brian reported this accident in a reasonable manner,” he said.
McGurk is free on $50,000 bail.
He didn’t enter a plea today and his case was adjourned until June 14.
The Staten Island DA could convene a grand jury on McGurk’s case in the interim.
McGurk has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. It carries a maximum of seven years in prison.
Zuntag insisted McGurk is “sorrowful and regretful” for Almazo’s death.