A man who made headlines last year when he was on the run for nearly three weeks after escaping Correction Department custody has been killed by a hit-and-run driver who dragged him 12 blocks on the Upper East Side, police said Monday.
James Mossetty, 36, was crossing York Ave. mid-block near E. 72nd St. when a Toyota RAV4 driver slammed into him about 5 a.m. Saturday, cops said.
“He was a father,” Mossetty’s brother, who declined to give his name, told the Daily News. “He was definitely loved and we need justice.”
The impact knocked Mossetty to the ground and he became lodged in the SUV’s undercarriage, cops said.
The driver kept going, with Mossetty not becoming dislodged until the SUV pulled onto the lower level of the Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge about a mile later, police said.
Medics rushed Mossetty to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, where he died.
“James was a true survivor, having overcome more than most could imagine,” his heartbroken sister wrote on Instagram.
“With more lives than a cat, he faced obstacle after obstacle with grit and resilience. From childhood, James was a character full of energy and spirit, and though life did not always make the path easy, he remained loved by many.”
Cops arrested 71-year-old Abdul Hakim about five hours later in Queens, where he lives.
Hakim is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash. He was arraigned Sunday in Queens Criminal Court and ordered held on $300,000 bond.
“I guess it’s a relief a little bit because the guy is caught — but no, it’s no relief,” the victim’s brother said. “My brother’s gone. I will never get that back.”
On June 26, 2024, Mossetty slipped out of his handcuffs and escaped Bellevue Hospital as authorities were getting ready to return him to Rikers Island.
He’d been jailed since that January on misdemeanor drug and assault charges for allegedly stiffing a yellow cab driver in Queens after cops found he had warrants for failing to appear in court dating back to 2021. Mossetty also had a criminal history in Florida, including a 2022 arrest on charges he attacked a cop in Orlando who was working as a school crossing guard.
He was on the run for three weeks before cops nabbed him on July 16, 2024. The status of the escape case wasn’t immediately clear Monday.
“He was definitely trying to get his stuff together,” Mossetty’s brother said of the victim’s life since his escape arrest.
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