NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� A judge decried New York City鈥檚 problems with electric and gas-powered bikes on Wednesday as he sentenced the electric scooter rider who crashed into 鈥淕one Girl鈥� actor Lisa Banes to one to three years in prison for his manslaughter conviction.
Brian Boyd, 27, was led away in handcuffs after sentencing in Manhattan state court by Judge Gregory Carro in the death of Banes. by the scooter Boyd operated as she crossed a midtown Manhattan street in June 2021. She died 10 days later at a hospital.
Carro said Boyd sped through a red light, struck Banes and fled to a bike shop, where he drank a beer.
The judge said the city 鈥渉as a problem鈥� with the motorized bikes and he wants drivers of unregistered and unlicensed bikes to know they can go to jail when they do harm.
Traffic fatalities have been on the rise in the city. Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group for safer streets, found that they rose 44 percent in New York City during the first three months of 2022, with pedestrians accounting for 29 of the 59 dead. The study found that Manhattan experienced a 120 percent increase compared with the same period in 2021.
Before Carro announced the sentence Wednesday, Boyd said he was 鈥渆xtremely sorry.鈥�
The sentence was consistent with an agreement Boyd signed before pleading guilty to manslaughter in September.
Banes was 65. She had appeared in numerous stage productions, television shows and movies, including 鈥淕one Girl鈥� in 2014 and 鈥淐ocktail鈥� in 1988. On television, she had roles on 鈥淣ashville,鈥� 鈥淢adam Secretary,鈥� 鈥淢asters of Sex鈥� and 鈥淣CIS.鈥�
Her stage career included Broadway appearances in the Neil Simon play 鈥淩umors鈥� in 1988, the musical 鈥淗igh Society鈥� in 1998 and the Noel Coward play 鈥淧resent Laughter鈥� in 2010.
Her wife, Kathryn Kranhold, a former contributor to the Center for Public Integrity and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, urged the judge to impose a 鈥渧ery significant term of imprisonment鈥� for Boyd, who she said was poised to benefit from a 鈥渧ery sweet plea deal.鈥�
Speaking at a lectern, she described her panic when Banes failed to arrive at dinner and when she saw her comatose wife with bloody hair on life support.
鈥淢y life stopped at that moment,鈥� Kranhold said.
She described Banes as a 鈥渇ierce defender of justice for everyone鈥� with an infectious 鈥渓ove for life鈥� who never shied away from heavy issues and who cried when Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice president.
Boyd, though, was a 鈥渄anger to anyone in New York City, to anyone crossing the street,鈥� Kranhold said, noting that Boyd didn't help Banes after hitting her.
鈥淗e cared more about his bike,鈥� Kranhold said.
Assistant District Attorney Erin LaFarge urged the judge to enhance the sentence to three to nine years, saying the terms of the plea bargain should be scrapped because Boyd lied to a court officer after his plea.
She said a video recording of the crash showed that Boyd falsely claimed Banes was distracted by her phone and headphones as she crossed the street and that he stopped to help her.
鈥淎ll of this is demonstrably false,鈥� LaFarge said, adding that Boyd claimed he knew nothing about it when police found him weeks later. 鈥淗e has not learned anything from this experience, and that is a terrifying thought.鈥�
Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
