Source: Police activity may have distracted driver accused in fatal Freeport hit-and-run
Heidy Zelaya-Almendarez, 24, pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.
A Wyandanch woman accused of being behind the wheel of a fatal hit-and-run in Freeport that killed a 76-year-old in November may have been distracted by police activity at the time of the incident, a source tells News 12.
According to a source, Freeport police were conducting traffic enforcement near North Grove Street and Brooklyn Avenue at the time of the crash on Nov. 8.
This new information comes one day after Nassau County police arrested Heidy Zelaya-Almendarez, 24, suspected of being the driver and fleeing the scene.
That source added that another Freeport police officer was driving by when Octavio Espinal, who was crossing North Grove Street, was struck. The officer identified two similar vehicles that may have been involved. That officer stopped the first car with Zelaya-Almendarez in it and told her to wait, then stopped a second car before realizing it wasn't the one involved, but according to the source, Zelaya-Almendarez had already left the scene.
"I'm 77, wow, he's 76, and that's the way I go," Freeport resident Bob Everett said. "That's my route. I'd better watch it."
Espinal died about a week later, according to his family, who told News 12 that his organs were donated to help save the lives of others in need of life-saving care. His family described him as a loving grandfather, a hard worker and always happy.
Zelaya-Almendarez pleaded not guilty at her arraignment yesterday to leaving the scene of an incident without reporting a fatality and tampering with physical evidence.
Bail was set at $75,000 cash, which she posted, according to court records.
Her attorney, Stuart Kanoff, said there's more to the case that the defense legal team is looking into.
"We're investigating this and it may very well be that my client was not the driver at the time of this incident," Kanoff said.
But investigators said she was behind the wheel of the light-colored sedan that struck and killed Espinal.
Prosecutors said a combination of cellphone location data put Zelaya-Almendarez at the scene and surveillance video from her Wyandanch home showed her trying to hide the car in her backyard.
Espinal’s daughter Ivelisse Alberto told News 12, “I feel like maybe finally justice will be served.”
She said she wants her dad to be remembered as a hero who saved the life of another through organ donation.
