The hit-and-run driver wanted for mowing down a handicapped man sitting on a Queens sidewalk with her car has been arrested, police have revealed – and is now facing murder charges.
The incident, which transpired Saturday, saw the 26-year-old suspect, identified Monday as Kiani Phoenix, fatally strike Milton Storch, 59, with her Honda Accord in Rockaway, sparking a two-day manhunt after she fled the scene.
Footage of crime – which left Storch dead and another man with minor back injuries – shows Phoenix drive the four-door sedan onto the sidewalk where Storch had been sitting, before suddenly accelerating and stepping on the gas.
The clip, captured by a nearby security camera, shows the vehicle suddenly lurch forward spurring bystanders to scatter – however, Storch, who needed a walker to move around, could not move away in time, and was ultimately hit.
Storch, who later died at a nearby hospital as a result of his injuries, had been sitting outside the deli he frequented on Beach 20th St when he was struck – and was subsequently mourned by residents of the largely residential area.
The early morning incident transpired just before 7:30 am – and was captured in full by one of the store’s outdoor security cameras, aiding police’s now-successful efforts to track down the woman.
Cops said Saturday that Storch was struck but Phoenix had been aiming for another woman – one that she had been arguing with in the buildup to the fatal collision.
After being apprehended Monday, Phoenix, also a regular at the deli, now faces charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
The hit-and-run driver wanted for mowing down a handicapped man sitting on a Queens sidewalk with her car was tracked down and arrest Monday – and is now facing murder charges
The incident, which transpired Saturday, saw the 26-year-old suspect, identified Monday as Kiani Phoenix (seen here in the green), fatally strike Milton Storch (pictured sitting on his walker) with her car in Rockaway, sparking a two-day manhunt after she fled the scene.
It’s unclear what the women were fighting over. Police say they know each other, but don’t get along
The 26-year-old woman in the red wig, center, followed the other woman out to her car where she punched her repeatedly
After her red wig was snatched from her head, the woman continued to pummel her rival through the driver-side window
The 27-year-old driver, looking to exact revenge after receiving a drubbing, drives onto the sidewalk as her rival retreats into the bodega
Milton Storch, of Far Rockaway, NY, seated in his walker, turns just as the car strikes him. He was killed by the impact
The fracas, which was caught on surveillance camera – both inside and outside the Queens bodega where it started – shows a war of words that escalates in seconds into a punch up and then the cruel death of Milton Storch, 59, an innocent bystander.
Storch was sitting on his walker outside the Rohan Deli at 601 Beach 20 Street in Far Rockaway enjoying the morning sun just after 7 a.m. on Saturday when he was senselessly run over during the street spat.
The video shows that the argument began by the potato chip display rack at the front of the bodega with another unnamed woman, wearing sport shorts, a black tank top and a bright red wig, pointing and yelling at the smaller Phoenix, who is wearing yellow florescent onesie, who leans forward as she gives it right back.
The video footage has no sound and it’s unclear what the women were arguing over, but police said that the two know each other ‘and they don’t get along.’
Milton Storch, 59, who needs a walker to get around because of a buildup of fat deposits in his legs, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Saturday
In the footage, Phoenix goes to leave, but is stopped by the other, larger woman. She pulls on the woman’s bag and follows her out of the store.
The video picks up again outside the cornershop, showing Storch on sitting on his walk as the two women throw windmill punches at each other while holding onto each other’s hair.
During the scuffle, Phoenix looks to be trying to get into her car, but settles for exchanging blows with the other woman.
The ensuing frenzy saw the suspect pull off her opponent’s wig as they battle in front of the black Honda, both throwing haymakers with deadly intent.
When Phoenix finally gets into her car, the other woman, who appears to be the aggressor, then circles around to the driver side of the car to start throwing punches through the driver side window.
Several men on the side walk make futile attempts to separate the women until the driver of the black sedan, Phoenix, starts the car, backs up slightly and then mounts the curb where her tormenter is standing.
Storch appears to be looking the other direction as pedestrians on the sidewalk scatter and the woman drives down the sidewalk.
He turns his head just in time to see the car clipping him and squeezing him between the vehicle and the front of the bodega.
After fatally striking Storch, the driver backs away slowly, pauses at a stop sign and drives off
Milton Storch, lies fatally injured beside the black Honda that struck him. The passenger and the driver of the car appear to be looking in the opposite direction
The woman then backs up, pulls back into the road, pauses at a stop sign and slowly drives away. She is currently being sought by police.
Storch was taken to St. John’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
‘There’s not much he could’ve done — couldn’t move fast,’ Tatiyana Temple, a neighbor told the Daily News. ‘I watched the video so many times today, and I’m just like, this is crazy.’
Another man who was also struck was taken to the same hospital, but he’s expected to recover.
Storch, who lived nearby, often hung out in the area and suffered from limited mobility due to a build-up of fat in his legs, his roommate, Jose Rodriguez, told the Daily News. He had to use the walker to get around.
‘I thought he was with his girlfriend or something, so I didn’t worry that much,’ Rodriguez told the paper. ‘When I found out what happened, then that’s when I stood frozen.’
Police have questioned the woman who was wearing the red wig and they believe they know who the suspect is, but she has not yet been located or arrested.
‘That fight is so drastic that you feel you had to mow people down?’ neighbor Marsha Green told the Daily News. ‘I hope they catch her. I hope!’
Prior to Phoenix’s arrest Monday, neighbors mourned the loss of Storch, a neighborhood fixture who frequented the delijust a few blocks away from his house to buy candy and his favorite Zebra Cakes.
One neighbor said she was shocked to hear about his death.
‘I cried because I couldn’t believe it when my husband told me,’ she told locas news station Pix11, adding, ‘That didn’t have to happen to a person who had nothing to do with a fight. To be innocently mowed down? I don’t know.’
Another neighbor, Tatiyana Temple, who lives near the deli, told The Daily News: ‘People are just crazy and evil – like, what in your mind tells you to get in your car and run someone over?’
Aside from claiming the life of Storch, the incident also saw a 36-year-old man hurt, sustaining injuries to his back, officials said. The intended target seen in the footage arguing with the suspect, meanwhile, was uninjured.
Phoenix’s arraignment in Queens Criminal Court was pending Monday night.