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Relatives of Lucille Pinkney and her son Herman Pinkney speak to reporters Friday after the sentencing of Daniel Hyden in New York. The mother and son and two other people were killed when Hyden drove into a crowd of people celebrating on July 4, 2024. (Michael R. Sisak \/ AP)<\/p>\n
A man who killed four people when he drove while intoxicated into a crowd of people at a Fourth of July celebration has been sentenced to 24 years 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 on 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 of up to 54 mph, according to evidence presented 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 injured by the truck or 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 After a nonjury trial, a New York state judge on Nov. 3 convicted Hyden \u2014 who had worked as a substance abuse counselor and published a book on addiction recovery<\/a> \u2014 of 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