4th of July Tragedy in NYC, Driver Plows Through Crowd Celebrating

You hear about firework mishaps hurting people the day after the 4th of July.

But for a small group in NYC, it was much worse.

Daniel Christopher Hyden, had been stopped from entering a bar on the evening of the 4th because he was too drunk.

He then got in his massive F-150 and went flying down the roads.

Racing through a stop sign, he went up a sidewalk, into a crowd and hit 11 people.

Sadly, 3 of them didn’t make it.

What was supposed to be a night celebrating freedom ended in tragedy.

Daniel Christopher Hyden, 44, rammed a pickup truck into a crowded park Thursday night, killing three and leaving eight injured.

Legacy media is silent. We all know why. pic.twitter.com/LV1p59os0q

— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) July 5, 2024

Police said those injured in the crash and taken to area hospitals included an 11-year-old boy and an 18-year-old woman. https://t.co/9Eu3CgC3o8

— 10TV (@10TV) July 5, 2024

New York Post reports:

The suspected drunk driver accused of mowing down 11 people, killing three, at a Fourth of July celebration on the Lower East Side is a self-described “addict” who painted himself as a well-meaning substance abuse counselor and positive example for others struggling with addiction.

Daniel Christopher Hyden, 44, wrote “The Sober Addict,” a book detailing his rock-bottom experiences with alcohol that he hoped would help save lives – but authorities said his demons caused tragic deaths instead.

“I told him this would happen one day. I told him,” Hyden’s ex-girlfriend, with whom he shares a 12-year-old daughter, told The Post on Friday.

“This is shocking because he hurt people,” the woman, who asked not to be identified, said. “He killed people. I’m so hurt over that.”

Alcohol was the reason the two of them split up, she noted.

Police believe Hyden got into a fight with a bouncer at a downtown bar Thursday night after he was refused entry for already being too drunk, law-enforcement sources said.

The bouncer agreed to refund him for the ticket to the Fourth of July party and sent him on his way about an hour before the deadly crash at nearby Corlears Hook Park, the sources said.

Hyden was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and other raps after he allegedly drove a gray Ford F-150 through the Water Street and Jackson Street intersection, over the sidewalk and into people celebrating the holiday in the park just before 9 p.m., according to police.

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BREAKING: Daniel Hyden has been charged after he reportedly ran over and kiIIed 3 people and injured 8 at a 4th of July celebration in NYC.

Hyden, who is a substance abuse counselor, was charged with 3 counts of driving while intoxicated and one count of operating a vehicle… pic.twitter.com/3MUTcDOz5m

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 5, 2024