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’s top prosecutor announced Friday.
Daniel Hyden, 46, was sentenced Friday in connection with the deadly July 4, 2024, crash in Corlears Hook Park on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
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.
He did not hit his brakes “until one-half second before the final crash,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a news release.
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.
Emily Ruiz, 30; Lucille Pinkney, 59; her son Herman Pinkney, 38; and Ana Morel, 43, were killed.
After a nonjury trial, a New York state judge on Nov. 3 convicted Hyden — who had worked as a substance abuse counselor and published a book on addiction recovery — 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.
On Friday, families of the people who were killed or injured read victim impact statements in court, and Hyden apologized to them.
“I’m processing how deeply disturbed and deeply hurt I was and still am. And I’m still processing the amount of people I hurt with my actions,” he said, according to The Associated Press.
He said he had broken his sobriety after his own sister was killed by a drunk driver in 2024, and at the time of the July Fourth crash, he was preparing to speak at that driver’s sentencing, the AP reported.
Bragg said in a statement that the victims “went to the celebration not knowing that Daniel Hyden would end their lives that day with his pickup truck.”
“While 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,” he said. “If you are intoxicated, do not get behind the wheel — it risks the lives of others, and you will be prosecuted.”
