Prosecutors charged a Crown Heights man for attempted murder and a slew of other offenses for allegedly running over a school bus driver during a fit of road rage — and leaving the victim in a wheelchair.
Kymani Hardie, 22, was at a red light in an Infiniti on April 30 at Linden Boulevard and Hinsdale Street in East New York, waiting behind a school bus, which was empty except for its driver, 44-year-old Camilla Gainey, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
The wait enraged Hardie, who got out of his car, approached the bus, and broke two of the vehicle’s mirrors.
Gainey then got off the bus and recorded Hardie’s car while standing on the median. At that point, Hardie stepped on the gas and ran over Gainey, before fleeing the scene. Gainey survived, but suffered a shattered pelvis, broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and other injuries, which forced her to use a wheelchair.
The shocking incident was captured on CCTV footage released to the public by the NYPD. Gonzalez said that later footage showing him checking into a hotel later on, exiting the same Infiniti and with a bandaged hand. DNA evidence from the bus mirror and the car were a match for Hardie, the DA’s office says.
Despite having been arrested back in June, Hardie was only arraigned in court on Monday. A spokesperson for the DA’s office said that Hardie had previously had “reservations” about boarding the bus from Rikers to the courthouse for a hearing.
Hardie was charged Monday with attempted murder, assault, and leaving the scene of an incident.
“The alleged actions of this defendant are truly horrifying,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “He is accused of mowing down an innocent bus driver, striking her on purpose and in cold blood and then fleeing the scene. This type of senseless violence cannot be tolerated, and we will now seek to hold him fully accountable.”
Hardie is being held on $50,000 bail, or $75,000 bond, and could face up to 25 years in prison, Gonzalez says. He is due back in court on September 16.
