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3 dead, 8 injured in alcohol-fueled crash at Corlears Hook Park – NBC New York

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Three people were killed and more than half a dozen injured, including children, after a suspected drunk driver ignored a stop sign, jumped the sidewalk and sped into a Manhattan park where families were gathering outside to celebrate the fireworks display Thursday night, authorities said.

According to police, the driver, identified by three senior law enforcement officials early Friday as Daniel Hyden of Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, sped into Corlears Hook Park on the Lower East Side around 9 p.m., just before Macy’s was set to kick off its annual Independence Day special display.

Witnesses pulled him from the truck and held him until police arrived, authorities said. He was arrested and treated for injuries to his head and face. Specific charges were not immediately clear.

It was also not clear whether Hyden had hired a lawyer.

Authorities said a total of 11 people were hit, including three who lost their lives, when the gray pickup truck sped past the stop sign near the intersection of Water and Jackson Streets around 9 p.m.

The rescue workers quickly reached the scene of the accident and found four people trapped under the truck.

The dead were identified by senior police officials as 59-year-old Lucille Pinkney, 38-year-old Hernan Pinkney and an as yet unidentified woman.

Another eight people were injured; one of them, a 30-year-old woman, is in critical condition. The other victims, including an 11-year-old boy, were treated for minor injuries, senior police officials said.

The driver appeared to have alcohol on his breath, according to NYPD Chief Jeff Maddrey. Investigators believe this played a role in the tragic incident. They do not suspect any connection to terrorism.

Gray truck was left at the scene in the park after four people were trapped underneath.
Gray truck was left at the scene in the park after four people were trapped underneath.

The ages of the victims injured and killed in the crash are not yet known, but Maddrey said two of them were young children.

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