The driver of a Honda Civic who was allegedly speeding when he collided with the driver of a Department of Transportation truck, which sent the truck flying into a parked taxi, has been charged with murder after the passenger in his car died from his injuries.
A press release from the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced that Antonios Sikolas, a 25-year-old from Yonkers, was charged with murder today, almost one month after the early morning Murray Hill car crash, and about two weeks after his passenger, Ryota Funakoshi, died from his injures.
Sikolas was already facing two DUI counts because his BAC after the crash was allegedly found to be .14, felony assault and reckless driving, and has now had second degree murder and manslaughter charges added on after Funakoshi's death. After the crash, Funakoshi had been in Bellevue after sustaining "severe head trauma, skull fractures, and major facial lacerations" according to the criminal complaint from the DA's office.
"Getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol isn’t an accident; it’s a deliberate and dangerous choice, too often with deadly consequences," District Attorney Cy Vance said in a statement.
The charges against Sikolas stem from a crash on the morning of July 19th, in which he allegedly ran a red light while speeding through an intersection at Third Avenue and East 34th Street and then crashed into a DOT truck. Witnesses said Sikolas was driving between 70 and 120 miles per hour. The driver of the truck, and the driver in a nearby taxi that the truck crashed into, were treated for minor injuries.
As of press time, Sikolas's attorney was unavailable for a comment.
