Driver in deadly Clinton Avenue crash sentenced

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Altamont man will serve eight to 24 years in prison for hitting and killing 31-year-old Tanisha Brathwaite with his car in September 2022 on Clinton Avenue in the city of Albany.

Nsikak Okure, 34, was sentenced in Albany County Court on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in February to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and Leaving the Scene of an Accident.

Prosecutors said Okure caused another crash about an hour later. His blood alcohol content at that time was nearly three times the legal limit.

Brathwaite, who was from Brooklyn, had just graduated from the University at Albany and planned to continue her studies. She was walking home from work at the time of the crash. Her family remembered her for her creativity and kindness.

"We have no Tanisha. We just have memories, and this is just so hard, just coming up here. I would never, ever, ever imagine my family sitting right there, you sitting here, and my sister not being here. This is the hardest thing we ever had to go through. And I just can't find it in my heart to forgive him, ever."

A memorial for Brathwaite was established near the crash scene in her memory.