NYPD: Driver who killed woman, hit 13 cars in the Bronx was speeding, on coke
SOUNDVIEW, Bronx (WABC) -- The man accused of running down a woman who had just exited her car during a rampage in which he hit at least 13 cars was arraigned Thursday.
Robert Johnson reportedly admitted to police that he was traveling between 90 and 95 mph when he allegedly killed 31-year-old Carina Lopez and had taken cocaine earlier in the day.
Authorities say Johnson was speeding in a bike lane when he sideswiped seven other cars on Bronx River Avenue in the Soundview section before striking the victim, who was standing next to the driver's side door of her car.
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He then kept on going, police said, striking the median and another five cars.
In all, 13 cars were smashed, not including his own.
No drivers or passengers were in any of the vehicles.
"She was a loving caring person who didn't deserve to go this way," younger sister Kathy Lopez said.
Carina Lopez was on the phone with a friend who heard screaming and bystanders urging her to hang on.
"I saw a lady on the floor, and I ran down to see, was she OK?" witness Rene Torres said. "I was trying to talk to her, and I really couldn't hear her."
Surveillance video showed the blur of the Dodge Ram flying past a bodega, sideswiping one of the vehicles that was struck
"He kept going after he hit her," witness Yemanni Vasquez said. "He kept going across the medium, I don't know how, and then crashed on the other side."
Johnson is charged with reckless driving and reckless endangerment, but upgraded charges are possible as the investigation continues.
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Carina Lopez's family, though, is in mourning over their loved one, who worked as a physical therapy aide.
"She loved us so much," Kathy Lopez said. "We were like her daughters. She was our second mom. My sister and I loved her."
Johnson is reportedly out on parole, and there is an out-of-state warrant for his arrest, though the nature of that warrant has not been released at this time.
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