Guilty Plea in 2007 Fatal Manhattan Hit-and-Run

The drunk driver who fatally struck a 24-year-old woman on East 4th and Bowery--and kept driving--last year has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Twenty-one-year-old Tenzing Bhutia, a senior at Baruch, will serve a two-year sentence starting in June for killing Julia Thomson (pictured) with his father's Mercedes last October.

Thomson, a Scottish transplant who was living in the East Village, had been showing a friend the town when she was hit around 4 a.m. Witnesses believe the car was going at least 50 MPH; three hours later, police found Bhutia and the damaged car in Queens, his blood alcohol level was 0.087, just over the legal limit of 0.08.

Bhutia admitted he knew he hit something yet continued on and was charged with DWI and leaving the scene of an accident in addition to vehicular manslaughter. The judge is allowing Bhutia to graduate before heading to jail.

Thomson's parents, who live in Edinburgh and have previously said how much their daughter loved New York, hoped Bhutia would be sentenced to three years. They gave a statement, "Punishment... should reflect the initial stupidity of taking the family car on a drinking spree and driving at a totally irresponsible speed...Worst of all, [was Bhutia's] callous attempt to get away when he knew perfectly well he had hit someone." The Thomsons have set up a fund for a community project in Brazil to remember her, The Julia Thomson Memorial Fund.

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By Jen Chung in News on May 21, 2008 9:50 AM

Comments [rss]

yomama

It would be hard to countersue someone you just ran over and killed.

Larry

PUH-LEASE. 4th and Bowery is one of the most hazardous crossings in the city. And what was she doing out at 4am? She looks like one of those snotty bitches who crosses without looking because IT'S ALL ABOUT HER. I'm surprised Tenzing didnt countersue her for damaging his car.

sonyactivision

I would have banged her instead: that's two years I could do standing on my head!

promo718

before degenerating to name-calling, re-read what i wrote and write something that makes sense. i'm not blaming the victim, i'm pointing out that the case isn't 2 dimensional and there are a number of factors which led to julia's death. the driver's sentence should reflect his contribution to what happened, no more and no less.

Rocknrope

Yeah promo718, blame the victim instead of the drunk driver who left the scene of an accident. You don't look like too much of a douchebag.

promo718

what's with the lynch mob? don't rush to judgment without knowing all the facts in the case. was julia crossing the street at a cross-walk? did she have the right of way (ie. did she have a green light?) i doubt it, because if she did, it would be specified in the article that the driver ran a red light. was she herself under the influence of alcohol or drugs? all these would be mitigating factors in the case and need to be considered. without knowing the facts, we can't tell whether the sentence is a just one.

west side Michael

Life is cheap in this old city.

"New York does not care if you live or die"

Travel brochure I read in the 1950's it also said

a city like Atlanta does.

lanciano

is this judge drunk too ?!? what the hell is up with allowing him to graduate? and then only TWO years? ARGH!!

JacqueMehoff

found another thing we like,

"hot" white girls who are dead.

Godspeed mr. bhutia.

ed_Extinct

al sharpton doesn't deal with asians, only black and hispanic/.

Politburo

Note that the maximum sentence for all three charges is 18 years. (10 for veh. ms., 7 for leaving scene of fatal accident, 1 for DWI)

jaja007

Here's a picture of the scumbag: http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/05/21/amd_tenzing.jpg

This judge is a confidant of John Liu, who has connections to this miscreant's father.

Utterly horrible, and my heart goes out to this beautiful woman's family. She spent her spare time helping other people around the world. The scumbag who killed her drives drunk, kills people, and doesn't have the decency to stop.

Anna_Merkin

Where's Al Sharpton?

mihow

Nothing more to add here except that I'm shocked that you can kill someone and only get 2 years. Shocked by this. So sickening.

jaja007

This judge was the same judge who freed that cybersex rapist pervert, Oliver Jovanovic.

That Judge used to be an ACLU director, and was the same Judge involved in Jen Carlson's favorite case - the "Remy Ma" case.

JacqueMehoff

that's true John DS re: the bike comment.

the only thing we love more than our liquor is our cars.

JMH

Two years? For DWI, hit and run, and manslaughter? Are you SERIOUS?

spiritross

I do like the Tough Love attitude of the Scottish Parents if only American parents took the same attitude

Politburo

Our system is so fucked up.. 2 years for something like this, yet 10 years for having a baggie of powder, or downloading a few songs.

tom traubert

She looks like Virginia Madsen.

JacqueMehoff

blame the liquor lobby. again, not surprising in the least. we love our alcohol too much in this country.

Power Hour.

John Del Signore

Yeah, it seems like this slap on the wrist is all to typical. And if she'd been riding a bike, he wouldn't even have gotten 2 years.

sakebalboa

btw how old is he anyway? the daily news says he's 29, but previous articles from 2007 say he's 21

sakebalboa

TWO YEARS?!

what an outrage.

ed_Extinct

2 years for killing someone while he was drunk? does that mean if i'm drunk with a legal handgun i would only get 2 years?

Dirk

Why the hell is the judge allowing Bhutia to graduate before heading to jail? He shouldn't be coddled. Let him graduate when he's done serving his time.

eyekantspel

wow, only 2 years AND the judge is going to let him graduate first? for a hit and run? Hopefully the family files a civil suit and gets to garnish this kid's wages every year once he gets out, to remind him it's wrong to drive drunk/kill people/leave the scene.