The Nassau police arrested and charged a Wyandanch woman Monday in connection with a November hit-and-run in which a pedestrian crossing at a Freeport intersection was struck and critically injured before dying days later.
Heidy Zelaya Almendarez, 24, allegedly left the scene in a light-colored sedan after hitting Octavio De Jesus Espinal Sime, 76, of West Babylon, as he crossed North Grove Street at the intersection of Brooklyn Avenue, according to the Nassau police.
Espinal Sime was transported to Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside, where he remained in critical condition until Nov. 11, when hospital officials said he was declared brain dead, Newsday previously reported.
On Monday, Zelaya Almendarez pleaded not guilty before Nassau District Court Judge Lisa Petrocelli in Hempstead to leaving the scene of an incident without reporting with a fatality and tampering with physical evidence, according to court records. Petrocelli ordered Zelaya Almendarez held on $75,000 cash bail, $150,000 insured bond or $500,000 partially secured surety bond.
Nassau police said Octavio Dejesus Espinal Simea, 76, was struck and killed in a hit and run crash Nov. 8 in Freeport. Credit: Family photo
After his death, Espinal Sime’s wish to have his organs donated was fulfilled when a Texas man received his liver, according to a previous Newsday story
Members of his family previously told Newsday they had hoped the driver who struck him would surrender to police. Relatives described Espinal Sime as an upbeat hard worker who felt purpose working at Strike Force Maintenance Corp. after surviving cancer.
He had been on his way to the Freeport Long Island Rail Road station to catch a train home back after a day’s work when he was hit, according to a Newsday story in November.
Relatives told Newsday that Espinal Sime had eight children, 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
More coverage: Every 7 minutes on average a traffic crash causing death, injury or significant property damage happens on Long Island. A Newsday investigation found that traffic crashes killed more than 2,100 people between 2014 and 2023 and seriously injured more than 16,000 people. To search for fatal crashes in your area, click here.
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