Driver in deadly July 4th NYC crash arraigned on host of charges
NEW YORK - The man accused of killing three people when he allegedly drove drunk into a crowd on the Lower East Side on July 4th was arraigned on a host of charges Saturday.
Daniel Hyden of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated vehicular assault, manslaughter, assault and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Hyden was also driving with a suspended license, prosecutors said.
Hyden, 44, appeared before a judge Saturday morning. His face was still swollen and full of stitches after police say he was pulled out of his truck and held down by the crowd he allegedly plowed into.
According to prosecutors, Hyden drove a Ford F-150 pickup truck into the crowd at Corlears Hook Park just before 9 p.m. Thursday. He allegedly ran through a stop sign at the intersection of Water and Cherry Streets, drove up onto the sidewalk, slammed through the chain link fence, and crashed into the crowd.
Eleven people were killed or injured, prosecutors said. The three people killed have been identified as Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son Herman Pinkney, 38, and Ana Morel, 43. Another person was critically injured, and seven others hospitalized. The youngest victim was 11, according to prosecutors.
Responding police officers say they found Hyden on the ground next to the driver's-side door, wearing pants but no shirt or shoes. He had bloodshot eyes, was stumbling and there was "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath."
"It's a very sad case. But Mr. Hyden, like anybody else that's accused of a crime, is entitled to zealous representation, and that's exactly what he's going to get," said Timothy Pruitt, Hyden's court-appointed attorney.
Pruitt didn't take any further questions.
"Justice needs to be done"
Thomas Curto, a friend of the victims, was in the courtroom for Hyden's arraignment to support the victims' families.
"I got angry. He refuses to lift his head up ... There's evidence against you. Lift your head up," he said.
Luz Leon told CBS New York her cousin Ana Morel was fun and loved to party, but also someone to turn to for advice. Morel is survived by her heartbroken mother, and 25-year-old son, who Leon says is still struggling to process her death.
"We should not have these type of people out in the streets endangering people and killing people," Leon said. "Nothing in this world would bring my cousin or those people that passed that day back. But justice needs to be done. And that would be looking like him staying in jail for the rest of his life."
Hyden is due back in in court July 10.
A vigil for the victims will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday in Corlears Hook Park .