Prosecutors played hardball Tuesday with the unlicensed teen driver accused of fatally striking a 4-year-old girl on the Upper West Side before fleeing cops last June.
Assistant District Attorney Jaime Hickey-Mendoza recommended Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court that Franklin Reyes plead guilty to manslaughter and assault in exchange for the maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
The father of little Ariel wailed in court as prosecutors offered the stiff plea deal.
“She was only four! She was only four!” shouted shattered father Alan Russo as he clutched his weeping wife Sofia.
Grandmother Katia Gutierrez, 58, had been walking Ariel to school June 4th when an SUV allegedly driven by Reyes, 17, tragically plowed into them. Gutierrez spent three weeks in the hospital.
The only concession of the hard line deal is that Reyes would not have to cop to leaving the scene of an accident, fleeing cops and unlicensed driving.
Outside the courthouse, Sofia tearfully spoke of the loss of her beloved daughter. “This is every mother’s worst nightmare.” she said. “I’m so grateful that the District Attorney is pushing a maximum. This is the right thing to do.”