Family Has No Sympathy for Epileptic Cabbie

Victim Danielle Ricco

Cabbie Hassan Afzal was sentenced to five years probation for causing the accident that killed 20-year-old Danielle Ricco in 2006. Though he initially denied the accident was his fault, Afzal later admitted that he had stopped taking his seizure medication, and a seizure caused him to go unconscious while driving and crash his cab on the West Side Highway. Ricco's family had no sympathy for the driver today, saying at the sentencing, "You ruined enough lives by your carelessness, if that’s what it was, and I hope you live knowing this every day of the rest of your life."

Ricco's friend Amy Vallerelli, who was injured in the accident, said Afzal seemed like he had no remorse. "Why can't you just say you're sorry?" she screamed in court. "I just want him to say he's sorry! What is wrong with him?" She later yelled "Monster!" as he passed her outside the courtroom. "You don't even care that you killed someone and put three people in the hospital! You're a pig! You're a maniac! You're disgusting!" Before the accident, Ricco allegedly asked Afzal to slow down. According to Vallerelli, he "just laughed" at the request.

His behavior could have had something to do with his "gelastic seizures," which are often preceded by sudden outbursts of emotion. According to WCBS, Afzal never made any statement of apology. Ricco's mom said, "He should not be allowed to leave the state of New York or get his passport. My daughter is in the state of New York, in a cemetery, in a vault. She cannot leave."

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By Jaya Saxena in News on April 17, 2010 4:35 PM

Comments [rss]

dgeee

If cabbies could kill and not get jail time or tickets, kicking the shit out of them and stomping their cabs should get you a free coffee at Dunkin' Donuts.

inoyourider

This scumbag should be in jail for a long time.

nicemarmot

How does someone with that kind of seizure disorder even get a drivers' license, much less a cab?

newsyspice

I'm an epileptic. I can drive, AS LONG AS MY SEIZURES ARE UNDER CONTROL. That's the key. The seizures must be under control -- the standard in most cases in seizure -free for a year.

To simply stop taking your anti-seizure drugs and continuing to drive is wrong. He's got no right to do that and continue to drive and put someone else at risk -- be it as a cabbie or going to the grocery store or whatever.

When someone with a seizure disorder pulls this kind of shit it makes me angry, because it makes the rest of us look bad. This condition freaks people out so much that this kind of story only adds to the misinformation out there.

Not all seizures are 'blackouts' or grand mal, btw. (grand mal being the full-on shake rattle and roll routine) I can feel mine coming, and kind of just space out for a few seconds. You could be next to me and have no idea.