Hit-and-run driver suspected of killing man on Christmas 2019 arrested in Guyana 5 years later: NYPD
SOUTH OZONE PARK, Queens (WABC) -- A five-year search for a driver who fatally struck a 67-year-old man on Christmas in Queens ended with his arrest in Guyana.
Police say Ravindra Dharamjit, 26, fled the scene and the country, where he was tracked down by detectives in the years following the December 2019 crash.
He was arrested by Guyana Police Force at a recent horse racing event. After a long process, U.S. Marshals brought the suspect to Miami earlier this week. He flew back to Queens overnight.
He was arraigned in court in Queens on Friday morning on a slew of charges including manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and reckless driving.
Dharamjit pleaded not guilty to all charges and was not granted bail after the defense asked he be put in protective custody.
The victim, Ainsley Dalrymple, was crossing Rockaway Boulevard at 114th Street after a Christmas gathering at his eldest son's house when he was hit by a driver who never stopped.
Prosecutors say the defendant was speeding and traveling 74 mph in a 25 mph zone.
His family said they learned Thursday that the suspect was found and brought to Miami -- they said it's a day they believed would never come.
"We just hope that justice will be served and my dad will finally rest in peace, and he's not going to come back to us, but at least we know that the person who took us took him from us is going to pay," his daughter Sherrice Dalrymple said.
The prosecution says he bought a one-way ticket to Guyana just three weeks after the crash and only came back due to the efforts of the NYPD.
The defense says he went there to work and eventually got married and started a life there. His attorneys also claim he didn't know he was under investigation.
Dalrymple was a Jamaican immigrant, loved his family and was a hard-worker. His family said Friday was difficult but it's just the beginning of getting justice.
"The first piece of this journey, and totally relieved, his family, his kids and my sister as well, that there's a little bit of peace right now until the final decision, so there is a god and we will get what we are due," said sister-in-law Jean Washington.
The victim's family said they will be there for every single court hearing.
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