Horror Crash on July 4 at Corlears Hook Park Claims Fourth Victim
Emily Ruiz, a 31-year-old resident of nearby Vladeck Houses, was taken off life support on July 9. Her allegedly drunk driving killer, Daniel Hyden, is already being held without bail on three counts of vehicular homicide. Further charges are expected.
| 15 Jul 2024 | 03:30
Memorial candles to Emily Ruiz, the fourth and latest victim of the July 4 horror crash at Corlears Hook Park. She was preceded in death by Lucille Pinkney, her son Herman, and Ana Morel. (
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Daniel Hyden’s Ford F-150 on the morning of July 5, before being removed from Corlears Hook Park by NYPD. (
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Memorial collage for Ana “Anita” Morel (
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Memorial hat to Ana Morel, and Lucille and Herman Pinkney. (
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In Loving Memory of Ana Morel (
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A fourth victim of the alleged Corlears Hook Park drunk driving killer, Daniel Hyden, has died.
The woman, 30-year-old Emily Ruiz, had been in critical condition since the horrifying events of Independence Day evening when, at approximately 8:55 p.m. Hyden sped his Ford F-150 truck through a stop sign and into a party of holiday revelers at the intersection of Water and Jackson Streets
Three people died at the scene or soon after: Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son, Herman Pinkney, 38, both residents of the adjacent Vladeck Houses. and Ana Morel, 43, of Harlem. Seven others suffered injuries, including an 11-year-old boy, Jacob Velazquez.
Ruiz, also a resident of Vladeck Houses, lived in the NYCHA project with an aunt and a six-year-old son, Kal’el. Ruiz was taken off life support, having sustained severe brain and liver damage, after five days.
Speaking to the New York Post, Matthew Hernandez, a close friend of Ruiz, said, “Emily was one of my best friends. I have known for over 20 years. She was the most kind-hearted woman you could know [and] a hard-working mom.”
Ruiz died on July 9 and her passing was announced on July 11.
Returning to Corlears Hook Park, hand-inscribed memorial candles to Ruiz had been added to the already large array of tributes—including candles, flowers, ribbons, cards and posters—devoted to the Pinkneys and Ana Morel.
“Herman & Mom–We love and miss you! Our thoughts and prayers. Your neighbors [Heart symbol] Greg & Jour” read one dedication the Pinkneys. Declared another: “SLEEP IN PEACE KING Till we meet again Herm–Goon”
One photo collage created “In Loving Memory of for Ana ‘Anita’ Morel”—”43 years young”—showed the deceased always smiling with her friends and family.
Read one candle: “Emily, Love, I’m going to miss your beautiful energy. Thank you for being my safe space. You left an impression on me. Thank you for the laughs we shared. I will forever cherish your beautiful [Heart symbol]. Thank you for being a light in such dark world. Gone way to soon. Till we meet again [Heart symbol.]
Back on Water Street, the exact route of Daniel Hyden’s fatal drive from Montgomery Street to Jackson Street can’t be replicated except on foot, as most of the street has been closed off for a sewer project.
On the night of July 4, sometime after Daniel Hyden is believed to have been kicked off a Pier 36 party boat for drunkenness, however, the alcoholic with multiple DWI convictions turned substance abuse counselor and self-styled “Sober Addict” would have sped past dozens of bright orange and reflective white construction barrels before fatally barreling through the stop signs at Jackson Street and into Corlears Hook Park.
Hyden, already being held without bail on three counts of vehicular homicide and other crimes, almost certainly faces a fourth homicide rap soon.