A Babylon man pleaded guilty Wednesday to fleeing after striking and fatally injuring a 66-year-old pedestrian in a Freeport crosswalk, then removing a distinctive sticker from his vehicle and leaving New York, prosecutors said.
Michael Bonner, 41, pleaded guilty Oct. 7 before Judge Caryn Fink to leaving the scene of an incident without reporting resulting in death and tampering with physical evidence, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
Bonner is expected to receive one to three years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 10. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office recommended a sentence of two to six years.
The crash happened at about 8 p.m. March 25 near East Merrick Road and South Main Street in Freeport.
Prosecutors said Bonner was driving an uninsured and unregistered 2001 Chevrolet Suburban when he struck Narcizo de Jesus Guerra Lopez, 66, as Lopez was walking in the crosswalk.
Bonner continued east on East Merrick Road without stopping, prosecutors said.
Lopez was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery. He died from his injuries on April 3.
Investigators used surveillance video and cellphone data to identify Bonner and reconstruct his movements before and after the crash, according to prosecutors.
The Suburban had a distinctive large red sticker on its rear windshield and white foam above the rear passenger-side tire.
Surveillance video showed Bonner in Oceanside at about 7:57 p.m. walking to the driver’s side of a vehicle with those same features, prosecutors said.
Additional video showed the Suburban at a 7-Eleven on Sunrise Highway about a half-mile from the crash scene. Bonner was recorded entering and leaving the store roughly four minutes before the collision.
Cellphone data also placed Bonner at the crash scene at the time Lopez was struck, prosecutors said.
At some point later that night, Bonner removed the large red sticker from the Suburban’s rear windshield.
Prosecutors said Bonner left New York shortly after the crash and traveled south to the Carolinas. He was detected there March 28 and returned to New York in early April.
Hempstead Police officers located and stopped him in Nassau County on April 4. Nassau County police detectives arrested him at about 12:40 p.m.
“Michael Bonner struck Narcizo de Jesus Guerra Lopez in the crosswalk and heartlessly left him to die in the street,” Donnelly said. “The defendant methodically attempted to cover his tracks and fled the state, leaving a grieving family behind to pick up the pieces.”
Donnelly said the investigation by police and prosecutors ultimately tracked Bonner down and brought him back before the court.
Find Crime News in Your Town
Explore arrests, investigations and crime reports from communities across Long Island.
