Brooklyn Man receives 14-year sentence for fatal hit-and-run of cyclist

March 6, 2024 Robert Abruzzese, Courthouse Editor

A 29-year-old male bicyclist is in critical condition after colliding with a vehicle in Bay Ridge.

Photo: Adam Balhetchet/Brooklyn Eagle

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A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for the intentional hit-and-run killing of a cyclist.

Korey Johnson, 45, from Ocean Hill, faced justice in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, where Hon. Elizabeth Warin delivered the sentence following his guilty plea to first-degree manslaughter.

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the sentencing, highlighting the tragic escalation from a minor alleged crime to a fatal outcome.

“This defendant’s extreme reaction when he allegedly witnessed a relatively minor, non-violent crime cost a man his life,” Gonzalez said. “Rather than reporting the incident to police, the defendant deliberately chased the victim in his car, striking and killing him, while endangering everyone else on the road. He has now been brought to justice.”

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Warin handed down a 14-year sentence to a 45-year-old who purposefully ran down a man with his SUV.Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle — Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Warin handed down a 14-year sentence to a 45-year-old who purposefully ran down a man with his SUV.
Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle

The case dates back to the early hours of Sept. 3, 2019, when Johnson allegedly spotted Donald Roberts, 47, attempting to break into his 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee in Bushwick. Rather than alerting authorities, Johnson pursued Roberts, who was on a bicycle, with his vehicle. The chase ended on Broadway near Ellery Street, where Johnson, driving aggressively and veering into oncoming traffic, struck Roberts from behind. The impact caused severe blunt force trauma to Roberts, who was later pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital.

The incident, which concluded with Johnson’s car flipping onto its side and crashing into parked vehicles, led to his immediate arrest at the scene.

“I had no intention of killing anyone,” Johnson told a NY Post reporter. “I just wanted to chase him, tackle him. … I feel terrible somebody died.”