A wrong-way driver has been arrested for criminally negligent homicide for fatally striking a 27-year-old woman as he pulled out of a West Village parking garage three months ago, police said Wednesday.
Gary Levinson, 62, is also facing reckless driving charges for the Nov. 6 death of Valerie Schoeck, who was planning for her wedding when she was killed.
Schoeck and her fiancée, Ross Barlow, had planned to marry this June and spend their honeymoon on safari, according to a GoFundMe post in Valerie’s honor.
“Valerie and Ross had planned to go on safari in Africa for their honeymoon next summer, with a stay at Angama Mara,” Barlow says on the GoFundMe, which raised $41,000 for the African wildlife conservancy. “(Her) lifelong love for animals shaped so much of who she was. She spent her entire life with a deep love and interest in animals of all types, and she had always looked forward to experiencing a safari and seeing wildlife in their natural home.”
Schoeck was crossing the intersection of Morton St. and Seventh Avenue South about 8:30 a.m. when Levinson rammed into her in a rented black GMC Savana, cops said.
Levinson had made a left turn as he exited a Morton St. parking garage and was driving against traffic when he hit Valerie in the crosswalk, according to police.
Medics rushed Schoeck to Bellevue Hospital, where she died about 40 minutes later. A witness who called 911 said the victim “was writhing on the ground, having convulsions.”
Levinson remained at the scene and was questioned by cops but not immediately charged.
Investigators believe Levinson, who works as a construction contractor, purposely turned the wrong way out of the garage, where he regularly rents vans, as a shortcut to Seventh Avene South, avoiding having to go around the block, police sources said. The garage sits close to the corner of the avenue.
NYPD Collision Investigation Squad investigators determined he had regulary made the illegal turn against traffic in the past despite knowing it was prohibited.
After a Manhattan grand jury indicted Levinson, cops arrested him Tuesday and brought him to Manhattan Supreme Court, where he was released without bail following a brief arraignment proceeding.
“This is a horrible accident and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Ms. Schoeck,” Levinson’s attorney, Scott Leemon, said Wednesday.
Levinson lives in the East Village, according to cops.
Schoeck was a vice president at Argot Partners, a Midtown public relations firm. She lived in the West Village, about eight blocks from where she was killed.
Besides raising money for Angama Mara, Schoeck’s fiancee also raised money on GoFundMe for Our House, a non-profit that provides grief support services. Our House was a support to Valerie’s family when her father, Michael Schoeck, lost his fight with leukemia in 2004.
“Her family understands firsthand how the loss of a loved one reshapes life and touches every part of one’s world,” Barlow says on the GoFundMe.
Last month, Barlow announced that $63,000 had been raised for Our House in Schoeck’s memory.
As part of the donation, “the Our House community will also be installing a permanent commemoration to Valerie at their NYC facility,” he said.
“This support means the world to our family and we hope this gift helps Our House continue to support people enduring similarly profound loss.”
