A fourth person has died after a New Jersey man accused of driving drunk crashed his truck into a crowded Manhattan park on the Fourth of July, police said.
Emily Ruiz, 30, died Tuesday of injuries she sustained when a truck plowed into a group celebrating the holiday in a park on the Lower East Side, police announced Thursday.
Authorities say a total of 11 people were hit in the park fracas, including the three who lost their lives. The dead were identified by senior police officials as 59-year-old Lucille Pinkney, her 38-year-old son, Herman Pinkney, and 43-year-old Ana Morel.
The other victims, who include an 11-year-old boy, were treated for minor injuries, senior police officials said.
Daniel Hyden, 44, of Monmouth, New Jersey, has been charged with crimes including aggravated vehicular homicide, assault, manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.
Tim Pruitt, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Hyden, said Hyden “is entitled to the presumption of innocence and a zealous defense.”
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Police have said the driver was speeding on Water Street before blowing through a stop sign and jumping the sidewalk around 9 p.m., when he barreled into the park and struck people celebrating the Fourth of July.
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Two senior police officials told NBC New York that the incident appears to have come after a fight at Pier 36 between Hyden and another man around 8 p.m. The venue would not allow him to enter because he was too drunk, according to police officials, which set him off, as he said he had already paid for a ticket.
The venue refunded him and he drove off. About 50 minutes later, the crash occurred.
Witnesses pulled him out of the truck and held him until officers arrived, authorities said. He was treated for head and facial lacerations, and later charged with driving under the influence.
Additionally, officials have said the man was not wearing a seatbelt and had a suspended license. He also refused drug testing, they said.
He faces additional charges of assault, driving recklessly, aggravated vehicular homicide, and driving without a license.
According to Hyden's LinkedIn profile, he currently works as a program director for three residential treatment programs in Manhattan.
In 2020, he published "The Sober Addict: A Guide on How to Be Functional With the Dysfunctional Disease of Addiction."
"Within the pages of DC Hyden's book, addicts, family members, enablers, and helpers will find unconventional ways to combat addiction from Onset to Remission," the book's description on Amazon reads.
Hyden's bio identifies him as a substance abuse counselor, instructor, public speaker and a wellness advocate, with a mission "to use his lifelong experience with addiction to teach addicts how to save themselves and achieve long-term recovery."
Law enforcement sources said Hyden had a prior arrest in February, where he was picked up for assault after allegedly punching a "fellow teacher" in the eye.
