Girl Mowed Down By Driver In Dispute, Cops Say: UPDATE

UPDATE: Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. said that during today’s proceeding, the 22-year-old accused of driving up on the sidewalk to kill a teenager pleaded not guilty and was sent to the county jail.

If convicted, he faces 25 years in state prison. His next court date is Jan. 24.

YONKERS, NY — A 16-year-old girl is dead, mowed down on the sidewalk, and police allege it was done by a 22-year-old in a car during a dispute. Yonkers police were called to Nepperhan Avenue at Ashburton Avenue on a report of dispute at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Responding officers were then advised that a vehicle struck a pedestrian and fled the scene.

They located a female down on the ground adjacent to the entrance of 354 Nepperhan Ave. Empress Ambulance was expedited; the victim was pronounced dead. Concurrently, a description of the suspect vehicle was broadcast to assisting units. Officers cordoned off the area and initiated a criminal investigation.

Within minutes, officers located the suspect vehicle on Saw Mill River Road and detained the operator; he was taken into custody without incident and the vehicle was impounded as evidence. Detectives from the Major Case Unit, Crime Scene Unit, and investigators with the Accident Investigation Unit responded to the scene on Nepperhan Avenue, interviewing subjects, canvassing for witnesses and surveillance video, processing forensic evidence, and reconstructing the accident scene with measurement tools.

After investigating, police allege that the operator of the vehicle, Joel Thompson, was involved in a dispute at scene when he intentionally drove a blue 2006 Toyota Corolla passenger sedan on the sidewalk and struck the victim with his vehicle causing her death.

The victim was identified as Madysen Denman, 16, of Sadore Lane, Yonkers NY. Denman’s body was secured by the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office for further investigation.

Thompson, 22, a resident of Coolidge Avenue in Yonkers, was placed under arrest and booked on one charge of first degree manslaughter, a Class B NYS Penal Law felony. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. The prosecution of this case is being managed by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.

The City of Yonkers and Yonkers Police Department extends its sincere condolences to the family of Madysen Denman, police said.

PHOTO: Joel Thompson/ Yonkers Police Department