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Nov. 28, 2017, By Christian Murray
A hit-and-run driver who allegedly left a 71-year-old pedestrian in critical condition while driving drunk in Whitestone last week has been arrested, according to police.
Carmine Minichino, a 52-year-old from Corona, struck the victim at around 6:45 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day when he sped through a stop sign while intoxicated. Minichino, who was driving with a suspended license, fled the scene, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Minichino has been charging with vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an incident, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, among other charges. He faces up to seven years in prison.
“A 71-year-old Queens man is lucky to be alive today after being hit and seriously injured while out walking in Whitestone on Thanksgiving Day,” said Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown in a statement. “The defendant in this case is alleged to have not only hit a pedestrian, but then selfishly left the scene without offering any assistance.”
Minichino was driving a 2009 white Chevy van when he hit pedestrian Paul Sim, causing him to land several feet away, according to Brown.
Sim was taken to a local hospital with a compound fracture to his right leg and bleeding on the brain, which will require several extensive surgeries to repair, Brown said.
Additionally, according to the criminal charges, Minichino abandoned his van a short distance away and fled on foot. When he returned with keys in hand to retrieve the vehicle, police believed he had a moderate odor of alcohol on his breath and bloodshot eyes.
When an intoxilyzer exam was administrated he had a .152% percentum or more of alcohol in his blood – which is nearly twice the legal limit of .08 in New York City, Brown said.
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