THIRD TEEN OUT OF HOSPITAL, PROVIDED STATEMENT
LAWYER: ALL EVIDENCE SO FAR SUGGEST THE VICTIMS WERE BLAMELESS
ROCK HILL - The father of one of the teenaged accident victims has retained a law firm, which has already started its own investigation into the Rock Hill incident on Sunday, June 2 that resulted in the deaths of Devin Zeininger and Justin Finkel.
Zeininger, 16, of Glen Wild and Finkel, 14, a former Town of Thompson resident who was most recently living in the Albany NY area, were struck and killed around 3:15 pm by a vehicle driven by Isaac Kantrowitz, a retired Town of Fallsburg judge. Troop F of the State Police in Wurtsboro are continuing their investigation into the tragedy.
"We've done a lot of research on the case already and all the evidence that we have uncovered so far does seem to suggest that the victims were blameless in the accident and that it was completely and solely the fault of the judge," said Gregory Sobo, a partner at Sobo & Sobo, a regional law firm that opened an office in Monticello earlier this month.
Sobo said that that the firm's lead investigator has already spoken to witnesses and are looking at physical evidence.
According to Sobo, one of those witnesses was a third boy who was also with Zeininger, a student at Monticello High School, and Finkel, a former student who was visiting the area, that day. That boy is no longer hospitalized, said Sobo, and has already provided a statement to the law firm.
Kevin Zeininger, who retained the firm, told The SullivanTimes late Sunday that the teens were walking back from the antique/custom auto show at The Sullivan Event Center in Rock Hill just prior to the accident on Glen Wild Road. He added that as of Sunday that he had not received any call from District Attorney Jim Farrell.
Christina Zeininger, the boy's mother, said in an interview Monday that her son was "full of life" and was happy.
She added that he was about to move with his father to Florida to begin his junior year in high school. She said that she had also videochatted with Justin Finkel a few weeks before the accident and called him "a nice boy."
She said that she learned of the accident about two hours after it happened when she received a call from her other son, Blaze.
"I just want justice for them," she said of her son and his friend.
She said she was shocked to learn about Kantrowitz's prior accidents.
"From everything I've learned about his driving record," she said, "how did anyone let him drive? How was he insured? How did he have his license?
DEVELOPING