Still More Tragic News In Fatal DUI Case

It wasn't bad enough that Daryush Omar killed two people while driving behind the wheel while intoxicated over the weekend while awaiting trial for his involvement in a murder of a man two years earlier. He should never have been behind the wheel at all considering that he had a DWI conviction in 2006 that resulted in a suspended license and required that a guardian accompany Omar while driving and prohibited him from driving during overnight hours.

The justice system failed in a big way, and there's no taking back what was lost:

Daryush Omar, 24, of Plainview, L.I., had a previous DUI conviction that led to his license being suspended in 2006, state records show.

He was driving on a driver's permit that banned him from getting behind the wheel without a guardian, a spokesman said. The permit also prohibited him from driving between midnight and 5 a.m.

It was about 4 a.m. Sunday when Omar ran a red light in his Range Rover and plowed into a livery cab in Astoria, killing driver Bessy Velasquez and passenger Panayiota Demetriou.

Omar was driving with a blood alcohol rate of .17, more than twice the legal limit. He's charged with manslaughter and drunk driving.

How could he have a driver's permit at a time when he had a suspended license unless the time on the suspension was up and he was able to obtain a permit? Digging deeper, and the Daily News found that he had multiple driving infractions, including prior DUI, driving without licenses, and other related charges on his record.

The man was a menace to society and yet no one saw fit to take action to protect the public. The bureaucracy failed the families of Ms. Velasquez and Ms. Demetriou and that's cold comfort to both.