Addiction Counselor Accused of Drunkenly Killing 3 in July Fourth Crowd
Three people were killed and eight others were injured in New York City when they were mowed down, allegedly by an intoxicated addiction counselor and author.
The New York City Police Department said 44-year-old Daniel Hyden of New Jersey was driving a Ford F-150 pickup on July 4 when he mowed over 11 people on a sidewalk and park in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood.
The NYPD said Hyden was driving on Water Street just after 9 p.m. when he ran a stop sign and entered onto the sidewalk, WNBC-TV reported.
Police told the outlet that speed was a factor and that Hyden’s vehicle struck people who were celebrating Independence Day.
Lucille Pinkney, 59, her son Herman Pinkney, 38, and another woman whose name and age had not been released as of Friday afternoon were all killed.
A 30-year-old woman was also hospitalized and was listed in critical condition.
The other seven victims were all treated for injuries that police had described as minor.
One of those victims was described as an 11-year-old boy.
Police said Hyden was not wearing a seatbelt and that he declined a drug test.
He was arrested on numerous counts, including assault, driving recklessly, vehicular homicide and driving without a license.
Just four years ago, the suspect had written and released the 2020 book “The Sober Addict: A Guide on How to Be Functional with the Dysfunctional Disease of Addiction.”
Writing under the name DC Hyden, the book describes addiction as a “terminal disease if left untreated” and said the book was targeted to anyone “impacted by the disease addiction.”
A bio on Amazon for Hyden said he works as a counselor, author and speaker on the subject of addiction and his “mission is to use his lifelong experience with addiction to teach addicts how to save themselves and achieve long-term recovery.”
According to WNBC, Hyden works as the program director for three New York City residential addiction treatment programs.
The New York Post reported NYPD investigators believe Hyden — who resides in New Jersey — was drunk at the time of Thursday’s accident.
Witnesses pulled the suspect from the vehicle and held him there until police arrived, according to WNBC.
The man suffered minor lacerations to his face.
Hyden was arrested for DUI in Wisconsin in 2015 and was arrested in New York earlier this year on an assault charge after police said he punched a teacher.
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