A man who drove while intoxicated into a crowd of people celebrating Fourth of July and killed four has been sentenced to 24 to life in state prison, Manhattan\u2019s top prosecutor announced Friday.<\/p>\n
Daniel Hyden, 46, was sentenced Friday in connection with the deadly July 4, 2024, crash<\/a> in Corlears Hook Park in Manhattan’s Lower East Side.<\/p>\n Hyden, of Monmouth, New Jersey, was intoxicated behind the wheel of his Ford F-150 pickup when he sped through a stop sign, a construction zone, and over a sidewalk at speeds up to 54 mph, according to evidence at trial. He drove through a chain link fence and ultimately struck a large crowd of families and friends at the park.<\/p>\n He did not hit his brakes \u201cuntil one-half second before the final crash,\u201d Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a news release.<\/p>\n Four people were trapped underneath the truck and seven others were hit and injured by the truck or by debris. When the truck finally stopped, Hyden attempted to flee, putting his car in reverse until he was stopped by witnesses who removed the key from the ignition, Bragg said.<\/p>\n Emily Ruiz, 30; Lucille Pinkney, 59; her son Herman Pinkney, 38; and Ana Morel, 43, were killed.<\/p>\n Hyden \u2014 who had worked as a substance abuse counselor and published a book on addiction recovery<\/a> \u2014 was convicted on Nov. 3 by a New York State Supreme Court Judge in a nonjury trial on four counts of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, four counts of second-degree assault and three counts of third-degree assault.<\/p>\n On Friday, families of the people who were killed or injured read victim impact statements in court, and Hyden apologized to them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m processing how deeply disturbed and deeply hurt I was and still am. And I\u2019m still processing the amount of people I hurt with my actions,\u201d he said,\u201d he said, according to The Associated Press<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said he had broken his sobriety after his own sister was killed by a drunk driver in 2024, and at the time of last year\u2019s crash he was preparing to speak at that driver\u2019s sentencing, the AP reported.<\/p>\n Bragg said in a statement the victims \u201cwent to the celebration not knowing that Daniel Hyden would end their lives that day with his pickup truck.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this prison sentence will not reverse the fatalities, injuries, and trauma, I hope this sentencing brings a measure of comfort for those who were impacted by this mass casualty event,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you are intoxicated, do not get behind the wheel \u2014 it risks the lives of others, and you will be prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n