BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Following the shocking mayhem at Corlears Hook Park on the night of July 4, the Lower East Side community will come together for a vigil Sunday afternoon.
Three people were killed after an allegedly intoxicated substance-abuse counselor plowed his Ford F150 into the park and into a family picnic. According to police, a few minutes before 9 p.m., Daniel Hyden, 44, of New Jersey was roaring northbound on Water Street “at a high rate of speed” when he failed make the turn and slammed into 11 people inside the green space.
Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son Herman Pinkney, 38, were transported by E.M.S. to New York-Presbyterian Hospital where they were pronounced dead. They lived together in the same apartment just a block away from the scene of the horrific crash that took their lives.
Ana Morel, 43, of East Harlem was taken to Bellevue Hospital where she also was pronounced dead.
Multiple other people were injured, including a 30-year-old woman who was transported to Bellevue in critical condition. Also all reported in stable condition were a 35-year-old woman who was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, a 36-year-old woman taken to N.Y.U. Langone Medical Center, a 37-year-old male, a 33-year-old female and an 11-year-old boy transported by E.M.S. ambulance to Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital; and a 38-year-old male and an 18-year-old female transported by E.M.S. to New York-Presbyterian Hospital.
After the deadly crash, Hyden tried to run off but was tackled and held by witnesses and taken into custody by responding police officers. He was hit with eight counts of assault (recklessly causing serious injury with a weapon — the car); aggravated vehicular homicide (killing more than one person); driving while intoxicated (first offense); and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the second degree.
According to Channel 7 Eyewitness News: “Police traced Hyden’s steps to find his whereabouts prior to the crash to a boat party on Pier 36. He was apparently denied entry for being too drunk. Hyden then got into a heated dispute with a bouncer before being refunded and leaving the location.”
Pier 36 is just a few short blocks south of the site of the fatal crash.
While he apparently has not been charged before with drunk driving in New York, according to news reports Hyden was arrested for driving under the influence in Wisconsin nine years ago.
The investigation remains ongoing by the Police Department’s Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad.
Sunday’s vigil will start at 4 p.m. at Corlears Hook Park, at Water and Jackson Streets. Prayer will be led by Reverend Dr. Marc Rivera of Primitive Christian Church.
The event is being organized by three local Democratic district leaders, Daisy Paez, Mariama James and Ron Thomas, and supported by Councilmember Christopher Marte and Friends of Corlears Hook Park.
Prayers to the families and friends affected in this horrific tragedy.
Open Streets aka closed streets need to be brightly marked and stanchions installed to redirect traffic and dissuade vehicles from traveling forward. (Elected Officials: This could be a GREAT bill to introduce!) Think of the cars that drove and crashed on the E 9th St pathway in Tompkins Square Park. (thankfully in the early morning and no pedestrians were injured.)
Wish someone will come up with a plan to reduce the amount of unnecessary vehicles in our area