Gowanus Canal ‘Driver/Diver’ In Hit-And-Run Incident Arraigned Tuesday In Brooklyn Criminal Court

A Brooklyn man who drove his car into the Gowanus Canal after fleeing from a ‘hit-and-run’ incident was held on $15,000 bail. Matthew Murphy — the man arraigned Tuesday in the incident — will appear back in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Friday, according to DNAinfo.

The hit-and-run incident happened on Monday, January 18. Murphy allegedly ran over the foot of a 49-year-old woman while she was putting her 1-year-old daughter into a Toyota Camry. The incident took place at the intersection of Court and Degraw Streets.

Following that incident, the driver allegedly fled the scene, driving 5 blocks until plunging his 2006 Audi A6 into the icy and toxic Gowanus Canal.

DNAinfo reports that “Murphy was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Tuesday on charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving an injury, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, driving without a valid license and misdemeanor assault,” according to court records.

Maurice Deas, who was working on set for the “The Americans” during the incident, told the New York Post “[w]hat caught my attention was the speed of the car. It was going around 70, 80 mph.”

Deas described the man’s actions, saying “[h]e was a little out of it. He kept saying he was an Iraqi war veteran. He was a little delirious. He kept saying the ice made him slip. He was trying to stop.”

According to police sources, both mother and 1-year-old girl were taken to Methodist Hospital after the incident. An update concerning their condition has not yet been provided.