Raife Milligan was a junior studying BioChemistry at NYU with aspirations of becoming a doctor.
On Monday, around 2:45 a.m., Milligan was crossing Houston Street at First Avenue when police said he was struck by a Chevy Camaro. Witnesses said the car was speeding.
EMTs transported Milligan to Bellevue with severe head trauma. He died later this week. He was 21.
Milligan was from Jasper, Ind., where a family friend has established a
GoFundMe to help with expenses.
From the fundraiser:
He just loved life to the fullest always thinking of others first. While in New York he did volunteer work delivering food to the elderly. He loved playing video games ... He also had a huge passion for playing volleyball. He joined a club volleyball team at NYU and loved every single minute of it. He found a great group of friends when he first came to New York. They all loved hanging out by the Hudson River watching sunsets and throwing frisbee. He had a profound love for the Beatles and has acquired quite the collection of vinyl records.
He loved his family with all his heart especially his twin, Reece, as well as his sister, Ryanne and brother Reid. His twin nieces, Coltrane and Era, adored their Uncle Raifey.
Raife was one in a million. Brilliant beyond his years. Saying he will be missed is an understatement. He impacted so many lives in a positive way and will be greatly missed.
According to the
Daily News yesterday, police charged 49-year-old Queens resident Michael De Guzman (also spelled Deguzman in some media reports) with drunken driving and vehicular assault. Per the
News: "He was released without bail after a brief arraignment proceeding. None of the charges were bail eligible, officials said." [Updated 5/7: The
Post reports that De Guzman was "than 1.5 times over the legal blood-alcohol limit at the time of the crash." In addition: "De Guzman was charged with felony vehicular assault in the second degree and two counts of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. He was arraigned and granted supervised release at the request of prosecutors."
De Guzman was reportedly driving eastbound when he struck Milligan. De Guzman then collided with a Honda CRV driven by a 52-year-old man. De Guzman, two of his passengers, and the other driver were all taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, per
reports.
Since December, the driver has reportedly received four camera-issued speeding tickets per a lookup of his license plate. [Updated 5/7: The
Post reports "the vehicle also gathered 25 parking tickets, including one for blocking a crosswalk in Queens and another for violating a 'no standing except authorized vehicles' ordinance in Brooklyn."
As an EVG reader told us in
our post on Monday: "The sound of the car speeding down Houston — rapidly upshifting through the gears — was so loud it woke me up." The reader then went to the intersection. "There were witnesses who were extremely upset — it was awful."
Three New Yorkers, including 16-year-old Bronx resident Alissa Kolenovic,
were killed by reckless drivers in the past week. As Gothamist
reported, pedestrian deaths are up 44 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year.
Image via GoFundMe