Alleged drunk driver charged for crashing into July 4 crowd, killing 3

NEW YORK CITY - Daniel Hyden, 44, has been arraigned on multiple felony charges after allegedly driving his vehicle into a crowded Lower East Side park on July 4, causing the deaths of three people and injuring several others.

Hyden has officially been charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, Manslaughter in the Second Degree, and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated. He is being held without bail.

Hyden barely lifted his head during his arraignment. He faces up to 25 years in prison. Investigators say he tried to evade sobriety tests after the crash by closing his eyes.

RELATED: Alleged drunk driver charged after NYC crash kills 3 at July 4th celebration

"I get angry. He refuses to lift his head up. Be a man about it, lift your head up. There is evidence against you. Be a man," Hyden's friend Thomas Curto said. "Obviously you're not a man because you can't face the music."

Curto is a friend of the family and was in court Saturday morning.

(Credit: Robert Miller)

"Everyone is devastated. You know the fourth of July. You are pretty safe in that area.  No one had any clue this guy was going to come barreling down Water and Jackson Street drunk like a skunk," Curto said.

Police said Hyden was driving a Gray Ford F-150 when he allegedly sped down Water Street through an intersection on Thursday just before 9 p.m., drove up onto the sidewalk, and plowed into people gathered at Corlears Hook Park, just off the FDR Drive.

Eleven people were struck during the 4th of July celebrations, and four were pinned under the vehicle. 

Obtained by Robert Moses: Lucille Pinkney and her son Hernan Pinkney

Three of the pinned victims died. They have been identified as 59-year-old Lucille Pinkney and her 38-year-old son Herman Pinkney, and 43-year-old Ana Morel. 

"We are going to miss her so, so much," said Luz Leon, Morel's cousin.

According to court documents, when police arrived, Hyden was "on the ground next to the truck's driver-side door." Investigators say he was "bloodied and wearing pants, but no shirt or shoes, and when he stood up, his balance was uneven."

"There was a little street justice that he got. He has a fat lip and a swollen eye. He was trying to get away," Curto said.

According to police, Hyden had a suspended license due to multiple failures to answer summonses. 

Prosecutors said Hyden is a substance abuse counselor who wrote a book called "The Sober Addict," an irony that only further enrages victims' families.

Right now, people who knew the victims are adding more candles to the site where several people were killed right in front of their family members.

Hyden is expected in court on Wednesday.