Community mourns mother, son killed at July 4th celebration in Corlears Hook Park

NEW YORK - A Manhattan community is in mourning after a July 4th celebration in Corlears Hook Park turned violent Thursday night. 

Witnesses described the scene as ‘horrifying’ after an alleged drunk driver plowed his vehicle into a crowd just off FDR Drive.

The driver struck 11 people, killing 3 in the middle of the park. 

Two of the victims have been identified by police as a 59-year-old mother Lucille Pinkney and her son Herman Pinkney, 38. 

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

One neighbor described them as ‘family’ to everyone in the neighborhood. 

Tamara Velasquez, who's lived near FDR Drive her whole life, was two blocks away from the park when the crash happened. 

"You heard the impact and everyone thought it was gun shots, but it wasn't," she said. 

Corlears Hook Park July 4th crash

Daniel Hyden, 44, from Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, drove his gray Ford F-150 at high speed down Water Street through an intersection just before 9 p.m. According to police, he drove up onto the sidewalk and plowed into people that were gathered. 

Hyden was charged with multiple counts of driving while under the influence and driving without a license.

Mother, son killed

Velasquez says that Herman and his mother were loving. 

 "When I found out last night I couldn't sleep," she said. "If you knew Herman, that was like your nephew."

"They were dear to us, you know, we were like a family." She added that Lucille was "like a mom to everyone."

She says Herman leaves behind a wife and young children. 

"Let's get it together and stop drunk driving," she said.  

Velasquez says the community wants justice and called on NYC Mayor Eric Adams to "do something positive to make their lives count."

She claims that nearby construction has left the community with limited places to gather near the East River.