Motorist pleads not guilty in death of Hartsdale activist

A man accused of mowing down a Hartsdale community activist while high last year — shortly after a Scarsdale cop let him go following a minor accident there — pleaded not guilty Thursday in Westchester County Court.

Antonio Robles-Sanchez, 42, of Brooklyn, was arraigned following his indictment on charges including second-degree vehicular manslaughter in the Aug. 26 death of Stephanie Kavourias.

Kavourias was walking on East Hartsdale Avenue shortly before 11:15 a.m. She had just pushed the pushed the button to cross the street at Rockledge Road when Robles-Sanchez's Dodge Ram pickup left the road, traveled onto the sidewalk and ran her over.

Robles-Sanchez drove off and police who arrived at the scene found one of the vehicle's license plates. A search began for the truck and police found Robles-Sanchez parked near the Westchester County Center in White Plains a short time later.

It was learned that Robles-Sanchez had earlier been involved in a minor accident with another motorist near Scarsdale Police Headquarters. He was in the parking lot at headquarters for more than half an hour while a rookie officer checked his license and facilitated the exchange of information.

But the officer failed to learn that Robles-Sanchez had an active warrant out of Pennsylvania on a misdemeanor drug possession charge. He let him leave after spotting a Xanax pill on the front seat and not asking Robles-Sanchez if he had a prescription for it.

The fatal accident just down the road in Greenburgh happened about six minutes after Robles-Sanchez drove off. The Scarsdale officer, Ainsley Brown, was fired by the village in November.

Additional pills were discovered in the car by Greenburgh police and the indictment accuses Robles-Sanchez of possessing cocaine, xanax and clonazepam.

Most of the charges in the indictment were the same as the ones Robles-Sanchez faced after his arrest. In addition to vehicular manslaughter, he is charged with criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident, both felonies, and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors.

His lawyer, Robert Osuna, was not present at the arraignment. The lawyer standing in for him, Fred Assenza, told Westchester County Judge George Fufidio they would wait to discuss bail until Osuna was available.

Robles-Sanchez has been held at the county jail on $500,000 bail that was set in Greenburgh Town Court following his arrest.

Kavourias, 65, was a longtime resident of East Hartsdale Avenue who had retired from a job running the parking authority there. She served on the boards of the Lois Bronz Daycare Center and the Greenburgh Public Library and had served as a member of the Greenburgh Planning Board.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Greenburgh fatal crash: Man let go by cop pleads not guilty in death