YOUNGSVILLE - One year ago today (February 3), Kathleen Nober of Lake Huntington was behind the wheel when she struck and killed Nusreta "Janet" Mujevic, 52, on Route 52 in Youngsville, near where Mujevic lived.
Instead of remaining at the scene, Nober, 31, fled in her vehicle. A caller to 911 reported the hit and run. Jeffersonville Volunteer First Aid Corps and the Youngsville Fire Department responded to treat Mujevic at the scene, before she was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center and, while there, declared brain dead.
State Police arrested Nober one week later. She was charged by Troop F of the New York State Police in Liberty with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a Class D felony.
Fast forward to late July 2020, when then--Acting District Attorney Meagan Galligan (now District Attorney) announced at a July 23 news conference that a Sullivan County grand jury (23 jurors) was to be convened in this case - along with three cases that included the high-profile prosecution of retired Town of Fallsburg Judge Isaac Kantrowitz, who struck and killed two teenagers on June 2, 2019.
Since grand jury deliberations are secret, it is not known if the grand jury handed up an indictment on Nober for any charges in the fatal hit-and-run incident. And, like the Kantrowitz case, it’s not known what evidence Galligan presented to the grand jury. In addition, there has never been any statement about the case issued by the DA's office.
The SullivanTimes emailed Galligan on February 2 (yesterday) to ask about the status of Nober’s case. She did not reply, but there's a generic filing of the case on September 17, 2020 with the County Clerk's office (graphic below).
Jared Hart, Nober's defense attorney since her arrest, said this morning in an email:
"I do not have the authority from my client to discuss the matter at this time."
(The SullivanTimes today has also filed a Freedom of Information Law request with the New York State Police for copies of the initial accident report and the Collision Reconstruction Unit report).
Leading up to that grand jury, Nober appeared in Town of Callicoon court before Judge Edward McKenna on February 18, 2020 when Galligan sought a complete suspension of Nober's driver's license.
But McKenna allowed Nober to drive only to her Alcoholics Anonymous meetings twice per week rather than suspending her license. (Due to the new bail reform law, Nober could not be held in jail).
During that February 18, 2020 court appearance, Galligan said: “If this was 2019, this would be very different," referring to the time before the new New York bail reform law took effect. "The court can exercise its discretion to suspend her license, pending a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) Fatal Accident hearing," Galligan told the court. "This was a horrific accident that led to someone's death," adding that Nober "failed to stop."
But as of February 3, 2021, no Fatal Crash Hearing has been scheduled for Nober, whose father, Jay, is a former court officer.
“In the Kathleen Nober case, DMV’s fatal crash hearing will not be scheduled until the criminal prosecution in this matter is resolved,” DMV spokesperson Timothy O’Brien told The SullivanTimes yesterday.
So, at least according to the DMV, the criminal prosecution remains unresolved.
A glance at Nober’s Facebook page shows her photographed as recently as February 1, 2021.
(This is a developing story)
Below: Kathleen Nober in a photo on her Facebook page from January 24, 2021
