ALBANY — A judge sentenced Nsikak Okure to 8 to 24 years in prison Wednesday for the September hit-and-run that killed Tanisha Brathwaite, but not before the victim’s family delivered heart-wrenching impact statements mourning the loss of the rising talent.
“My sister won’t be able to finish her second book. She won’t be able to have the kids she wanted,” Tiyarna Brathwaite said. “She won’t be able to root for her nieces and nephews at their proms and their graduations … any of that no more, because he took her life and just left her there.”
On Sept. 14 at about 6:30 p.m., Brathwaite, 31, was struck by Okure’s vehicle as she crossed Clinton Avenue at the intersection of North Swan Street on her way home from work. Just 36 minutes later and 7 miles away from the scene, a witness spotted a vehicle driving erratically at the intersection of Crossgates Mall Road and Western Avenue and called 911. Okure of Guilderland was taken into custody for drunken driving after crashing his vehicle into a median.
But police said he was released due to a lack of evidence tying him to the fatal crash.
In November, Okure was arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and several driving while intoxicated counts. He pleaded guilty in February and admitted to a charge of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting. According to prosecutors, the plea satisfied the initial 11-count indictment that alleged Okure recklessly drove a car under the influence of a significant amount of alcohol resulting in Brathwaite’s death.
In imposing the sentence Wednesday in Albany County Court, Judge Andra Ackerman said she refused to believe the defendant’s claim that he didn’t initially know he hit Brathwaite. She cited his actions shortly after the crash, when he pulled his car over to assess the damage and discovered her wig on the vehicle….
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