Who is Adem Nikeziq? 'Drunk' driver sobs after learning fiancee, unborn child died in horrific crash
Warning: This article contains graphic content that could be traumatic for some readers. Discretion is advised
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK: Adem Nikeziq, 30, whose reckless driving while being impaired claimed the life of his pregnant girlfriend, cried uncontrollably after receiving the tragic news from his lawyer during his first appearance in the court. According to the officials, Adriana Sylmetaj of Staten Island was 7 months pregnant and had her baby ripped out and flung 40 feet in a drunken-driving crash.
“No one told him that his fiancee and baby had passed,” Nikeziq’s lawyer, Mark Fonte, told the New York Post, outside the court. “He found out minutes ago, just before he came out [into the courtroom]. When I told him, he broke down crying, sobbing. He was at first completely in disbelief.” The 23-year-old late pregnant mother was in the passenger seat when the couple’s speeding SUV struck a barrier and a utility pole early Saturday, January 28. Adriana's sister is reportedly an NYPD cop.
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“She was found at the intersection,” Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Agostino told Judge Raja Rajeswari. “Her severed leg was found 20 feet past her body. Her unborn child, ripped from her body, was found 20 feet past her leg.” Nikeziq told cops that another driver cut him off before the deadly collision, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case. “Not every horrific accident rises to the level of criminality,” Fonte said.
However, prosecutors claimed that Nikeziq was speeding and weaving through traffic on Hylan Boulevard around 4:45 am when he lost control of the white 2021 Dodge Challenger and smashed it into a barrier. Agostino said the accident happened after “a night of drinking” for Nikeziq. The case will now be presented to a grand jury. The judge ordered Nikeziq held on $400,000 cash bail or a $700,000 bond. He is scheduled to be back in Staten Island court Thursday, February 2.
Who is Adem Nikeziq?
Adem Nikeziq is charged with the death of his pregnant girlfriend in a tragic car accident Staten Island car crash. Nikeziq was reportedly intoxicated while he was driving the SUV with Adriana, who was 7 months pregnant and was seated beside him in the passenger's seat. He was brought into court in a wheelchair and wearing a hospital gown, and is charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, vehicular assault, and drunken driving in the deadly crash.
Who was Adriana Sylmetaj?
Adriana Sylmetaj was originally from Brooklyn, but graduated from New Dorp High School in Staten Island and attended the College of Staten Island until last year, according to her Facebook page. She worked at Pleasant Plains Animal Hospital South and for NYU Langone Health. A registry at Buy Buy Baby listed to Nikeziq and Sylmetaj shows that the couple was expecting their baby, a girl, on April 12.