Sep 19, 2024
A state appellate panel has reinstated the murder charge against a state trooper who twice rammed the car of a civilian motorist, killing 11-year-old Monica Goods of Brooklyn during a high speed chase in December 2020, according to the decision released Thursday. Four of the five judges on the appeals panel for the Third Judicial Department agreed that Judge Bryan Rounds was wrong in his February 2023 decision to dismiss the second-degree murder by depraved indifference charge against Trooper Christopher Baldner in Monica’s death. The appeals judges also reversed Rounds’ decision to reduce first degree reckless endangerment charges against Baldner to second degree. “Monica would have been 15 next month she should be here to see it unfortunately her life was stolen in a horrible way and so was Tristina’s childhood,” said Monica’s mother Michelle Surrency, also referring to her elder daughter who survived the crash but was traumatized. “I hope this criminal is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Monica Goods, 11. Baldner’s union and the state Attorney General’s office did not have immediate comment. The AG’s office is prosecuting the case. Monica was on a family holiday trip upstate on Dec. 22, 2020 when Baldner pulled over her father Tristan Goods for speeding on I-87 near Kingston. The two men argued and then Baldner became enraged and peppered sprayed the interior of the car. Claiming he was in fear of his life, Goods drove off and Baldner chased and twice rammed the rear of Goods’ SUV at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The SUV flipped over a guardrail and Monica was ejected, killing her. Her body was found under the vehicle. nydnMichelle Surrency (center), whose daughter died during a car chase, stands with her lawyer Sanford Rubenstein (left) and Rev Kevin McCall (right) after a news conference in October 2021. (Jeff Bachner for New York Daily News) Key to the decision was a previous 2019 incident in which Baldner rammed motorist Jonathan Muthu in another high speed chase on I-87 that ended in a crash but no deaths. “When the evidence is viewed in the light that most favors the People – which is the finding that we must credit in this posture – is that defendant decided to end both pursuits with perilous, unsanctioned high-speed collisions while possessed of a ‘wickedness, evil or inhumanity’ directed at two defiant drivers,” the judges wrote. “We now look forward to the trial and full justice for this horrible wrongful death which never should have happened,’ said lawyer Sanford Rubenstein who, with Corey D’Almata, is representing Surrency in a civil lawsuit against Baldner and the state.
Respond, make new discussions, see other discussions and customize your news...

To add this website to your home screen:

1. Tap tutorialsPoint

2. Select 'Add to Home screen' or 'Install app'.

3. Follow the on-scrren instructions.

Feedback
FAQ
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service