Driver accused in Fourth of July park crash that killed four
Daniel Hyden, whom the Post identified as the accused driver, allegedly drove a Ford pickup into people at Corlears Hook Park; city data records four pedestrians killed and eight injured at Water and Jackson streets.
What We Know
On the night of July 4, 2024, city crash data records a fatal crash at Water Street and Jackson Street in Manhattan involving a northbound Ford pickup. The record says four pedestrians were killed and eight people were injured. The Post reported that police accused Daniel Hyden, 44, of drunkenly driving through the intersection, over the sidewalk and into Corlears Hook Park, where people were celebrating Independence Day. Early Post stories reported three deaths; a later story identified Emily Ruiz, 30, as a fourth person who died at Bellevue four days after the crash. The Post also identified Lucille Pinkney, 59, Ana Morel, 43, and a 38-year-old Pinkney family member, with one article spelling his name Herman and another Hernan.
A holiday gathering became a mass-casualty crash
The official crash record places the crash at 8:52 p.m. on July 4, 2024, at Water Street and Jackson Street. It records four pedestrians killed and eight people injured, including seven pedestrians and one motorist.
The Post reported that police said Daniel Hyden drove a Ford F-150 through the intersection, over the sidewalk and into Corlears Hook Park, where people were celebrating Independence Day. The official record describes the pickup driver as traveling north and going straight ahead before the crash.
Water Street by Corlears Hook Park
The crash happened at Water Street and Jackson Street on the Lower East Side, by Corlears Hook Park. CrashCountNYC location data for Water Street in Manhattan shows 125 crashes, 61 injuries, two serious injuries and four deaths since 2022.
Four pedestrians died
The official record lists the four people killed as pedestrians: a 59-year-old woman, a 43-year-old woman, a 38-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman.
The Post identified three of the people who died as Lucille Pinkney, 59, Ana Morel, 43, and Emily Ruiz, 30. The paper identified the 38-year-old victim as a Pinkney family member, spelling his name Herman in one report and Hernan in another.
Diamond Pinkney told the Post that his mother Lucille Pinkney and his brother were among those killed. A later Post story quoted Liliana Ruiz saying that Emily Ruiz's six-year-old son ran for a first aid kit after the crash; the story said Emily Ruiz died at Bellevue four days later.
Police accused the driver of drunken driving
The Post reported that Hyden, 44, was charged with driving while intoxicated after the crash. The paper also reported that parkgoers restrained him from leaving the scene while they waited for police.