Cabbie convicted in boy's hit-run death

A 63-year-old Philadelphia cabbie was convicted yesterday of vehicular manslaughter and related charges in last year's hit-and-run accident in Logan that killed a 5-year-old boy and seriously injured the child's mother.

Yves Aristilde was also found guilty of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person in the Aug. 24, 2008, accident that killed Tyrell Elliot and injured Dana Reynolds, 23.

The verdict was issued by Common Pleas Court Judge Benjamin Lerner, who heard the two-day nonjury trial. Lerner set sentencing for Dec. 8 and ordered Aristilde immediately taken into custody until probation officers can arrange electronically monitored house arrest pending sentencing.

Assistant District Attorney Jude Conroy asked Lerner to revoke Aristilde's $100,000 bail, citing the mandatory minimum one-year prison term for leaving the scene of a fatal accident.

He said Aristilde faces 31/2 to 7 years in prison on the manslaughter charge.

Conroy noted that Aristilde had convictions in the late 1970 and early 1980s in New York for driving while intoxicated and failed to appear four times for court hearings.

According to trial testimony, Aristilde, a Haitian-born driver for Yellow Cab, was driving to his home in the Logan section about 2 a.m. when he ran a red light at Windrim Street and Lindley Avenue and struck Reynolds as she crossed the street carrying her son.

Mother and child were thrown 30 to 60 feet from the impact with the cab, which Conroy estimated was moving 35 to 40 m.p.h.

Police found Aristilde's damaged taxi abandoned about a half-mile away. The cabbie surrendered to police 14 hours after the accident.

Defense attorney Clayton Hall called the boy's death a "tragic event, and everyone feels for the death of a child. But every accident or incident does not rise to the level of a criminal act."

Hall said the fact that Aristilde surrendered "shows that he is remorseful."

Conroy argued that a night watchman who was an eyewitness testified the cab was "flying" when it ran the red light, struck Reynolds and her son, veered right, and kept going.

"He was not a neophyte to the area, and he was not an inexperienced driver," Conroy added. "He was a taxi driver, and he had access to telecommunications."

Conroy said Aristilde's statement to police that he kept driving because he thought he heard gunshots was not corroborated by eyewitnesses or police.

Aristilde did not testify, although Hall introduced a series of witnesses who testified to his good character.

The courtroom was also packed with relatives of the victims'. After the verdict, they approached reporters with a message for Aristilde.

"Please let his family know that we don't hold any animosity toward him," said Linda Payton, Tyrell's paternal grandmother. "We have lost a loved one and now they will be losing a loved one for at least a year."