Daniel Hyden, man who drove drunk into LES crowd on July 4, found guilty of 4 counts of 2nd degree murder
Daniel Hyden was found guilty on four counts of second degree murder after driving into a crowd people celebrating July 4, 2024 in a Lower East Side park.
Four people were killed and seven others injured.
Hyden was also found guilty of one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and assault counts.
Authorities said Hyden was drunk while driving his pickup truck ran stop signs, crashed through a fence and plowed into the crowd .
The long time friends were at a barbecue in a park on the Lower East Side off Water Street around 9 p.m. that evening.
During the trial, Hyden, 44, heard from the families of the victims who said he shattered their lives last year.
During opening statements, prosecutors said Ana Morel's life ended when, "5000 pounds of twisted steel and rubber" pinned her under the suspect's truck.
Lucille and Herman Pinkney, a mother and son, died just a few feet apart.
Lilly Ruiz was in the park that night with her daughter Emily and Emily's then 6-year-old son.
Lilly, like others who sobbed in court, testified, she heard a loud bang and saw Emily under the truck with her eyes "wide open like saucers."
Lilly says she tapped Emily's face and begged her "don't close your eyes," telling the judge she realized, "I'm watching my daughter die right in front of my eyes."
The 30-year-old was rushed the hospital. Her little boy brought his toy first aide kit saying, "I don't want my mom to die, she's a great person."
Eight days later, Emily was taken off life support.
Moreno testified, it was pure mayhem and that there was nowhere to go.
He grew up with Herman Pinkney and said Lucille was like a mother to him.
In all of the chaos, Moreno remembers being hit and thrown roughly 8 feet.
In the end he was one of many who beat and pulled Hyden out of his truck as he tried to get away.
Prosecutors had detailed the roughly 45 minutes before the deadly incident.
The suspect tried to get on a party boat at nearby pier 36 but prosecutors say because he appeared drunk, security wouldn't let him on. The group then got into a brawl.
In videos played in court, Hyden told responding officers he was OK and got into his truck and drove away.
"I just want this man to rot in jail, give him his 25 years," a relative said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was set to discus the verdict later Monday.
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