A 23-year-old man who was filmed walking away from a blazing car with a woman trapped inside after a fiery crash has had the murder charge dropped.
A video of the incident showed Saeed Ahmed hailing a taxi, leaving 25-year-old Harleen Grewal in his luxury car that was engulfed in fire after crashing into a concrete barrier on a bridge in New York last year.
Firefighters doused the fire and recovered Ms Grewal’s charred body from the car. The police arrested Mr Ahmed from a hospital and charged him with murder for leaving her in the burning car.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent Del Giudice initially agreed with the charge but after Mr Ahmed’s lawyer contested it, the charge was thrown out.
Justice Giudice said the failure to call for help is not a factor in determining whether a homicide constitutes depraved murder.
Mr Ahmed had been allegedly driving in and out of the traffic on the expressway before his car hit the barrier.
He admitted to having a few drinks before the crash but was not legally drunk when his blood was tested at the hospital, police said.
His brother Waheed at the time claimed that Mr Ahmed had tried to rescue Harleen.
"He said the girl that was in the car was stuck in there and he tried to get her out, that's why his arms were burned," he told the New York Post.
Karan Singh Dhillon, the boyfriend of Ms Grewal, said she was a selfless person who always looked out for others.
Mr Ahmed now faces the charge of homicide and could get 15 years in jail if convicted of second-degree manslaughter.
He is expected back in court on September 10.
