Suspect arraigned on indictment charging him with murder in Lower East Side July 4 crash
LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- The man accused of driving into a crowd on the Lower East Side of Manhattan on the 4th of July was arraigned Thursday, on an indictment charging him with the deaths of four people.
Daniel Hyden, 44, was allegedly driving drunk when he plowed into a group of people at a barbeque, killing four people and injuring seven others.
It was on Jackson and Water streets on the Fourth of July that a pickup truck barreled through a crowd of people celebrating the holiday, killing the victims and injuring nearly a dozen more.
Hyden is now charged with four counts of murder in the second degree, one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, four counts of assault in the second degree and three count of assault in the third degree. He is being held without bail.
"As alleged, Daniel Hyden was driving while intoxicated when he plowed through a group of friends and family celebrating the Fourth of July in Corlears Hook Park," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. "This alleged act tragically cut the lives of Lucille Pinkney, Herman Pinkney, Emily Ruiz, and Ana Morel short and severely injured seven others."
According to police, Hyden was driving on a suspended license for failing to answer a summons four times on three separate dates.
A law enforcement official estimates Hyden of South Brunswick, New Jersey, was driving at about 40 mph.
He crashed through two sets of fences before hitting the victims.
Officials say Hyden had fully pressed down his gas pedal and did not hit the breaks until one-half second before the final crash.
They say that once the vehicle finally came to a rest, Hyden attempted to flee by placing his truck in reverse to continue driving, only to be stopped by witnesses who removed the key from the ignition.
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