A fatal traffic accident in Harlem

Barely-noticed hit-and-run, Harlem, NY:

Two days ago a neuroscientist--described by his colleagues as "brilliant"--was killed when his bike was struck by a hit-and-run driver fleeing a traffic stop in East Harlem in New York City.

Sergei Musatov, a 42-year-old assistant professor of neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical Center, was struck from behind by a speeding Mercedes around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday on 129th Street in East Harlem.

The Mercedes driver, who had two passengers, then turned onto Madison Avenue--against traffic--and smashed into another car which was stopped at a red light.  At that point all three occupants jumped out of the crashed car and fled on foot.

Minutes before the fatal crash court officers had tried to pull over the Mercedes nearby after it ran a red light.  The driver refused to stop.  Officers didn't pursue.

A neurosurgeon at Weill Cornell who worked with the victim said the pair had been working on a way to use gene therapy to treat Huntington’s Disease.

“He was on the verge of making extremely important contributions in this area,” said the colleague. I’ll never know what more we could’ve done together.’’

Now normally an auto-pedestrian fatality in Harlem wouldn't get my attention, but this one did.  Because I think this is a sign of things to come.

Who refuses to stop when a cop tries to pull you over for running a light? 

No one sane and rational, unless they've stolen the car or have arrest warrants.  In either case it's worth the risk to them to flee.  These guys did, and they got away with it.

The guy who died due to their totally selfish, anti-social act might have helped find a cure for--well, doesn't matter now.  But if you think this is a one-off you haven't been paying attention.  Crooks have discovered the cops are no longer going after "minor" offenses--like running a red light.  The obvious conclusion there is: don't stop.  Take off, and count on their unwillingness to buck the clear policies of people like the communist mayor of NYC, the black attorney-general of the U.S. and the emperor.

Unless something changes--radically--this is the new normal for the rest of your lives.

Condolences to the family of the criminally-slain neuroscientist.