A woman in Florida fatally hit a New York federal judge and seriously injured a six-year-old boy when she swerved her car on a sidewalk. According to police, the woman said she believed to be Harry Potter. They also said they found a powerful synthetic remedy in her suitcase.
Nastasia Snape, 23, was charged with vehicle murder and other crimes for the crash in which Sandra Feuerstein, 75, a district judge in the eastern district of New York since 2003, died Friday. The boy, Anthony Ovchinnikov, was taken to hospital. His condition could not be determined.
According to court reports, witnesses told Boca Raton police that Snape was driving irregularly on a busy road before driving to the sidewalk and hitting Feuerstein. Snape then drove back to the road before hitting the boy on a footpath.
According to police, Snape fled to Delray Beach, where she crashed. A Delray officer said it looks like Snape is having convulsions, staring into space and will just say she’s OK.
According to police, Snape started screaming in the ambulance and fighting with medics while shouting that she was Harry Potter. The medics stunned her. Police said they found in her purse a synthetic remedy commonly known as ‘bath salt’ which can cause psychotic episodes.
Snape was jailed on Sunday on a $ 60,000 bond. The Palm Beach County Public Protector’s Office has a policy of not talking about his affairs.
Feuerstein was appointed state judge in New York after 16 years by President George W. Bush. The eastern district covers Long Island, including Brooklyn and Queens, and Staten Island.
Feuerstein chaired the case of former New York City police officer Valerie Cincinelli, who is accused of paying a lover to kill her husband and is expected to plead guilty. It was unclear how Feuerstein’s death would affect the case.
Feuerstein and her mother, Annette Elstein, are apparently the first mother-daughter duo to be judges.
In a statement, Eastern District CEO Eugene Corcoran said Feuerstein’s “eccentric style and warm personality illuminate the courtroom. She will be missed by her colleagues and litigants”.
Feuerstein was born in New York in 1946 and worked as a teacher before obtaining a law degree from the Benjamin N Cardozo School of Law in 1979.
“She sees the role of a judge as the interpretation and not the creation of law,” Joshua Glick, who contracted for Feuerstein, told Newsday. She was focused on writing clear and concise opinions that were easy to understand. She was sometimes tough on the matter which, according to her, was not entirely candid with her, but she was always fair. ”