Delivery driver charged after woman struck, dragged by vehicle dies
NORTH BABYLON, Long Island (WABC) -- Police say a deliveryman hit two pedestrians and kept driving -- even though one of them was trapped under his van.
Donnell Hicks, 26, of Queens has been ordered held on $100,000 bail after the crash in which he allegedly struck a woman with his van and dragged her hundreds of yards in Suffolk County.
Hicks made no statements in court, but prosecutors revealed that the AutoZone deliveryman admitted in a statement to investigators that he stopped his van when he realized he was dragging something, checked beneath his truck and saw the victim's body, then continued driving to his next delivery, "to get to his next job."
Prosecutors added that numerous witnesses tried to warn Hicks that he was dragging the victim and urged him to stop.
He has no prior arrests and faces 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison if convicted.
The accident happened in a driveway at Commack Road and Route 231 near an AutoZone store on Monday.
According to Suffolk County Police, Hicks was driving a 2017 Dodge Ram work van when he struck Ann Marie Christina, 38, and Eric Krems, 40, in front of the store.
Police said Hicks did not stop and continued traveling northbound on Deer Park Avenue while dragging Christina, who was caught underneath the vehicle.
Christina became dislodged from the van after several hundred yards and came to rest in the roadway while Hicks continued on his route, according to investigators.
One eyewitness said several motorists tried to get the driver's attention as he drove away, but he either ignored them or simply could not hear them.
"He hit her at AutoZone and dragged her for about three blocks, three or four blocks, and made the turn with her. And people were yelling that she's, someone's under the car, and then he just backed up and sped off, took off," he said. "You got to know something's under your car. You're dragging a cardboard box you know you're dragging something."
Christina, of East Quogue, was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
Krems was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released.
Hicks, of Springfield Gardens, Queens, was located later at the AutoZone store. He is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death.
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