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NEW YORK — <\/span>Halena Herrera can\u2019t cross a street without thinking about the pickup truck that barreled toward her, killing her best friend and three other people, at a New York City park two Fourth of Julys ago.<\/p>\n Daniel Hyden was drunk at the wheel as the Ford F-150 jumped a curb, bulldozed a chain-link fence and plowed into a group of friends and relatives who were holding a holiday barbecue at Corlears Hook Park in Manhattan. The truck stopped just feet from Herrera, its momentum halted by bodies trapped underneath.<\/p>\n Judge April A. Newbauer sentenced Hyden on Friday to 24 years to life in prison in the deaths of Ana Morel, 43; Lucille Pinkney, 59; her son, Herman Pinkney, 38; and Herrera\u2019s best friend, Emily Ruiz, 30.<\/p>\n Seven people were hurt, including Herrera, who was hit in the face by debris.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning that the only reason I lived was because four other people were dying under the car is still very hard to deal with,\u201d Herrera told reporters after Hyden\u2019s sentencing in state court in Manhattan.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m glad that at least now there’s some sense of justice,” she said. “It doesn’t help much. It doesn’t bring anything back, but it’s good to have it over with, so I’m happy for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Diamond Pinkney, Lucille\u2019s son and Herman\u2019s brother, said seeing Hyden sentenced was a \u201cbig relief.” The driver, a substance abuse counselor who wrote a 2020 book about coping with addiction, \u201cknew what he did, he knew the possibility he could\u2019ve caused and he did it,\u201d Pinkney said.<\/p>\n Hyden, 46, from Monmouth, New Jersey, described it as an \u201caccident\u201d in his courtroom apology. He was convicted in November at a non-jury trial of murder, aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m processing how deeply disturbed and deeply hurt I was and still am. And I\u2019m still processing the amount of people I hurt with my actions,” he said, standing in a room packed with victims, relatives of the people he killed and about two-dozen officers.<\/p>\n Hyden said he had broken his sobriety after his own sister was killed by a drunk driver in New Jersey in 2021. At the time of his crash in July 2024, he was preparing to speak at that driver\u2019s sentencing, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat kind of human being would put other human beings through the same thing he was going through?” Hyden asked.<\/p>\n Herrera scoffed at Hyden\u2019s newfound shame, telling reporters afterward: \u201cHe has shown no remorse from the very beginning, so for him to sit there and say that he\u2019s sorry is just \u2014 I don\u2019t believe any of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The crash happened less than an hour after Hyden was refused entry to a nearby party boat and clashed with security. Police officers who responded to the boat incident testified that they didn\u2019t witness anything warranting arrest, so they walked Hyden to a park bench and left.<\/p>\n He then got behind the wheel of the pickup truck, prosecutors said, accelerating through a stop sign at 39 mph (63 kph), speeding through a construction zone and zooming over sidewalk at up to 54 mph (87 kph) before reaching the park.<\/p>\n Hyden was pressing the gas pedal down fully and didn\u2019t hit the brakes until half a second before he hit the crowd, prosecutors said. He then tried to put the vehicle in reverse, but witnesses pulled the keys from the ignition to stop him. <\/p>\n Hyden\u2019s lawyer suggested he had a foot injury that complicated his driving.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this prison sentence will not reverse the fatalities, injuries, and trauma, I hope this sentencing brings a measure of comfort for those who were impacted by this mass casualty event,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “If you are intoxicated, do not get behind the wheel \u2014 it risks the lives of others, and you will be prosecuted.\u201d<\/p>\n Herrera and Pinkney both said they want Hyden to remain in prison for the rest of his life so he does not have a chance to hurt anyone else.<\/p>\n Herrera, who is studying to be a therapist, said she has had bouts of depression and struggles with post-traumatic stress \u2014 the horror of that night infecting her daily activities. But, she said, she has to stay strong for her 7-year-old son.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day, I’m worried that something else can happen,\u201d Herrera said. \u201cYou know of it \u2014 you know that death happens, you know that accidents happen and things happen. But to live it is a different thing.”<\/p>\n “So, now it’s like: Am I going to get hit by a car crossing the street? Is something going to happen to me?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n