Alleged Drunken Driver Charged After Couple Is Struck, Killed In Massapequa

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A man was charged with driving drunk after he allegedly struck and killed an elderly couple in Massapequa.

John Hartwig, 63, of Massapequa, stood charged early Sunday with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, as well as driving while intoxicated.

Nassau County police said a husband and wife, both 77 years old, were trying to cross Merrick Road just east of Park Boulevard around 8:15 p.m. Saturday, when they were hit by an eastbound 2015 Ford Explorer that Hartwig was driving. 

The couple, Barbara and Melvin Glickman, were snowbirds who spent their winters in Port St. Lucie, Florida and had just returned to Long Island, where they lived in a senior citizens complex in Melville, 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported. They were on their way back from dinner when they were struck.

"They did everything together," one neighbor said. "They would sit by the pool. They were wonderful people, they married young."

The Glickmans were taken to an area hospital, where both were pronounced dead, police said.

Hartwig was due to appear in First District Court in Hempstead on Sunday.