Julio Acevedo speaks out from Rikers Island

NEW YORK

Julio Acevedo told me he feels terrible for the victims and their families, but he also feels he's been unfairly charged with manslaughter, claiming this was nothing more than a horrific accident that wasn't his fault.

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"I want people to know I send my remorse. I'm not a monster, or a menace, or anything like they're portraying me to be. I'm a human being. I just want to be treated fairly," he said.

Julio Acevedo, spoke to me from Rikers Island where he's being held without bail, is charged with 3 counts of manslaughter in a horrific crash in Williamsburg a month ago that killed an expectant couple, Raizy and Nathan Glauber, on their way to the hospital in a livery cab. A boy, born prematurely, died hours later.

"Those charges I feel are not correct and I feel remorse for what happened and I am sorry. What happened was a tragedy. It was an accident, at the end of the day and I did not intentionally or willingly commit any of that. The cab driver ran the stop sign and we had an accident," he said.

The D-A's office says Acevedo, who fled the scene, had been driving recklessly and speeding.

"That's not true," Acevedo said. "I was not reckless driving. I wasn't drinking or anything."

When I asked if he had been speeding?

"I might have been doing about 45," Acevedo responded.

Police say he was traveling close to 70 MPH. Acevedo claims the cab pulled in front of him.

"Yes, he had a stop sign and he was more in a rush than I was," he said. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even hit my brakes. There were no skid marks or anything."

Acevedo surrendered in Pennsylvania a few days later after a massive manhunt.

"I left the scene because I was afraid and I knew I would be treated the way I'm being treated now, unjustly. All I ask is to be treated fairly," Acevedo said.

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