3 dead, 7 injured after suspected drunk driver plows into New York City park on 4th of July
Three people are dead and seven others have been injured after a suspected drunk driver plowed his vehicle into a park on New York City's Lower East Side on Thursday night, police said.
The driver of a gray Ford F-150, Daniel Hyden, 44, struck multiple pedestrians in the park at 8:53 p.m. on Thursday night, police said.
The man was driving eastbound on Water Street when he sped through a stop sign, jumped the curb and crashed into Corlears Hook Park, police said. The pickup truck was on top of four of the victims when authorities arrived. Good Samaritans held the driver until police arrived, authorities said.
Hyden, from Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, has been charged with eight counts of recklessly causing serious Injury with a weapon, aggravated vehicular homicide of more than one person, driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operator of a motor vehicle.
three counts of driving while intoxicated and one count of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.
The FDNY worked alongside NYPD's Emergency Services Unit to remove the patients from under the vehicle, according to authorities.
Two of the people killed in the crash were mother and son: 59-year-old Lucille Pinkney and 38-year-old Herman Pinkney.
The other woman who died has not been named pending family notification.
Hyden is a substance abuse counselor who wrote a book in 2020 described as "a practical guide on how to effectively live and cope with the dysfunctional, lifelong disease of addiction," according to New York ABC station WABC.
A 30-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition, police said. The other six people injured in the crash -- including an 11-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman -- were in stable condition.
First responders smelled alcohol on the driver's breath at the scene, police said. Tests are being conducted to determine whether the driver was intoxicated during the incident, they added.
Authorities said that terrorism is not suspected at this time, although the investigation is ongoing.
