Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Rony Zino was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide in the death of a 75-year-old woman he is accused of hitting with his truck as she was crossing a street in Ridgewood with the aid of a walker.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said: “We have too often seen the tragic results of reckless driving when motorists ignore the rules of the road. It is incumbent upon anyone who gets behind the wheel to follow the law, including yielding to pedestrians. We will hold this defendant accountable for his actions.”

Zino, 27, of First Avenue in Flushing, was arraigned on a six-count indictment charging him with criminally negligent homicide, two counts of failure to yield, failing to signal, failure to exercise due care and reckless driving.

If convicted, Zino faces up to 4 years in prison. Queens Supreme Court Stephanie Zaro ordered him to return to court on December 8.

According to the charges:

• Video surveillance shows that on October 11, at approximately 11:00 a.m., Zino, driving a 2020 Dodge Ram pickup truck, stopped at a red light on the corner of 60^th Road and Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood.
• When the light turned green, Zino waited about seven seconds before turning northbound onto Fresh Pond Road, where he struck Linda Lee Hirsch, of Seale, AL. The 75-year-old, who was using a walker to cross the street, had the right of way.
• The impact from the pickup truck caused Hirsch to fall and strike her head against the pavement. She was transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery. She was pronounced dead on October 20.

Assistant District Attorney Hugh McCann, of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Michael Whitney, Bureau Chief, and Roni C. Piplani, Deputy Bureau Chief, under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.