Inset: Daniel Hyden is seen in custody being walked to a police car on Friday, July 5, 2024 (WABC). Background: A truck allegedly driven by Hyden after it crashed through a fence into a Manhattan park (WNBC).
A New Jersey man who reportedly wrote a book about living with addiction is behind bars for allegedly crashing his truck into a city park where revelers were celebrating the 4th of July on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, killing three people.
Daniel Hyden, 44, was arrested Thursday after allegedly plowing his F-150 into Corlears Hook Park in Manhattan at around 9 p.m. According to the New York Police Department, Hyden was behind the wheel of his truck, speeding down the street and ignoring a stop sign before jumping the sidewalk and crashing through the fence of the park.
Four people were found trapped underneath the vehicle, the NYPD said. They were freed by first responders. Witnesses pulled Hyden from the truck and stopped him from leaving the scene.
Watch as @NYCMayor and NYPD executives provide an update on an ongoing investigation in lower Manhattan.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 5, 2024
Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her 38-year-old son Herman Pinkney, were killed, local NBC affiliate WNBC reported. Eleven people were reportedly struck by Hyden’s car.
According to Fox News, a third person was also killed — a woman who has not yet been publicly identified.
A spokesperson for the NYPD detailed the charges to Law&Crime. In addition to charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, Hyden is facing assault charges for recklessly causing serious injury with a weapon, driving while intoxicated, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The NYPD did not provide details as to why Hyden was allegedly not licensed to drive the truck.
Local ABC affiliate WABC reported that Hyden has a history of arrests, including in February in New York for assault and a 2015 arrest for driving under the influence in Wisconsin.
According to a LinkedIn page, Hyden is the author of “The Sober Addict,” which is described as “a guide on how to be functional with the dysfunctional disease of addiction.” His profile notes that he is a “Program Director for three residential treatment programs” and that he advocates “on behalf of all those impacted by the disease of addiction.”
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