New Hyde Park man pleads guilty in fatal hit-and-run of woman walking to bus stop after work
Prosecutors say Lidia Rivera was crossing Lakeville Road on her way to a bus stop after finishing her custodial shift at a Northwell Health facility when she was struck by Rajvir Bharaj's pickup truck.
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A New Hyde Park man has pleaded guilty in a fatal drunken-driving hit-and-run that claimed the life of a 61-year-old woman as she walked to a bus stop after work.
Rajvir Bharaj pleaded guilty Friday to manslaughter, assault, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. He is expected to be sentenced in November to between 4 and 12 years in prison.
The crash happened on the night of June 6, 2025, in Lake Success. Prosecutors say Lidia Rivera was crossing Lakeville Road on her way to a bus stop after finishing her custodial shift at a Northwell Health facility when she was struck by Bharaj's pickup truck.
According to prosecutors, the impact launched Rivera into the air and sent her crashing into a glass bus shelter. She suffered a skull fracture, and her brain stem was severed from her spinal cord.
“Like a true coward, as Lidia lay crumpled and dying on the pavement, Rajvir Bharaj ran,” Donnelly said.
Rivera was pronounced dead at a hospital about 30 minutes after the collision.
Prosecutors said Bharaj drove roughly a half-mile from the scene, repeatedly called a friend who is a New York City police officer, and sent texted them asking, “Should I leave?” He later walked back to the crash site, where he was arrested.
A blood test administered about five hours after the crash showed Bharaj had a blood alcohol concentration of .12%, according to prosecutors.
Donnelly said that while Rivera was working hard at her job, Bharaj “was tying one on at a Freeport bar, throwing back alcoholic drinks and shots of liquor” before getting behind the wheel.
