Drugged Driver Who Killed Man in East Village Crash Gets 20 Years to Life

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The driver who hit and killed a man coming out of work at East Village Farm and Grocery in 2013 was given 20 years to life in prison on Friday, the New York Daily News reported.

According to prosecutors, Shaun Martin was high on PCP and meth when he crashed his car going more than 50 mph into the grocery store at 69 Second Avenue, killing Mohammed Akkas Ali and injuring two of Ali's coworkers.

A Manhattan Supreme Court justice sentenced him for murder and aggravated vehicular homicide.

Martin said he became addicted to drugs to treat his own psychiatric disorders.

The justice, Melissa Jackson, said that excuse didn't cut it because his family "did everything they could to help you every single time but you continued to use drugs."

Martin was found guilty in July in a trial without a jury of murder in the second degree, aggravated vehicular homicide, assault and reckless endangerment, as well as several other charges.

The accident happened at 7 a.m. on June 19, 2013. Ali was critically injured after being hit by Martin's Nissan Altima, according to the NYPD. He died a few months later at a nursing facility, his son testified.

"My father was a very nice man. He was a very honest man and he was a very hardworking person," his son, Rukanul Islam, said through an interpreter. "He worked all his life and just before the accident he told me he wouldn't be working anymore, he would be retiring."

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