An imprisoned New Jersey man was slammed in a New York courthouse yesterday with a 70-count indictment charging he intentionally smashed his car three years ago into crowds of Midtown pedestrians, killing one.
Ronald Popadich, 44, pleaded not guilty to a long list of charges, including a count of second-degree murder, that prosecutors say was the result of a crime spree in February 2002.
Popadich is already serving 30 years in prison for the Feb. 10, 2002, murder of his next-door neighbor, a crime that triggered the alleged spree.
Two days later, prosecutors said, he mowed down 18 people, one fatally, near Madison Square Garden.
The next day, he shot a cabdriver in the head, the indictment says. The cabby survived.
And the following day, Popadich rammed a stolen car into pedestrians near Macy’s, police and prosecutors said.