Driver Who Fatally Struck Flatbush Dad Charged 1 Year Later: DA

EAST FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — A driver who lost control of his car, slammed into six cars and killed a Brooklyn father in East Flatbush last year has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors announced Friday.

Mark Antoine, 41, faces up to 15 years in prison for driving a car, after a physician warned him not to, and causing a massive collision on Avenue A and Remsen Avenue in East Flatbush on Jan. 9, 2017, according to Brooklyn prosecutors.

“He got behind the wheel and now an innocent father is dead,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “This was a preventable death that could have been avoided if the defendant had listened to his own doctor’s advice.”

Antoine, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, was driving his 2004 Nissan Pathfinder around 5:20 p.m. when his leg stiffened and locked on the gas pedal, prosecutors said.

The Nissan jerked forward, rammed into six other cars and, at a speed of about 60 miles per hour, finally struck Marlon Palacios at the corner of Avenue A and Linden Boulevard prosecutors said.

Investigators later discovered that Antoine’s doctor — who was treating him for multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the nervous system — told Antoine that he should not drive, prosecutors said.

Antoine was held on a $50,000 bail after being charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, reckless driving and speeding in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Friday, said prosecutors.

His next court date is scheduled for Feb. 14.

Contact information for Antoine’s attorney was not immediately available.

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