Press Release
QUEENS MAN SENTENCED TO FOUR TO 12 YEARS IN PRISON FOR RICHMOND HILL DWI CRASH THAT KILLED CITY WORKER
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Errick Persaud was sentenced today to four to 12 years in prison on a charge of manslaughter for a drunken collision in which he killed a 36-year-old worker in a New York City Department of Environmental Protection truck in Richmond Hill in July 2023. The defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the second degree on May 8.
District Attorney Melinda Katz said: “This defendant made the selfish decision to drive drunk and that choice led to a completely avoidable tragedy. Errick Persaud endangered every person on the road in those early morning hours and crashed into a DEP truck, killing 36-year-old Michael Rodriguez. My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting dangerous drivers and we hope today’s sentence provides a measure of solace to the victim’s family.”
Persaud, 25, of 104th Street in Richmond Hill, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the second degree before Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise on May 8 and was sentenced today to four to 12 years in prison.
According to the charges:
- On July 6, 2023, at approximately 2:30 a.m., video surveillance footage showed Persaud driving a black Mercedes-Benz at high speed through a steady red light at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill.
- Persaud hit a Department of Environmental Protection truck near the intersection. The impact of the collision toppled the truck and ejected 36-year-old Michael Rodriguez from the passenger seat. The 40-year-old driver of the truck sustained minor injuries.
- Rodriguez was taken to a local hospital with severe head and body trauma and died due to his injuries.
- After the accident, a Breathalyzer was administered to Persaud that indicated he had a blood alcohol content of .134 percent, which was above the legal threshold of .08 percent.
Assistant District Attorney Alexia Campoverde of the Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Castellano of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Michael Whitney, Bureau Chief of the Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau, Roni Piplani, Deputy Bureau Chief, John Kosinski, Homicide Bureau Chief, and Jonathan Selkowe, Vehicular Homicide Unit Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.