Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced today that a Mount Vernon resident was arraigned on an indictment charging him for causing a high-speed December 2021 vehicular crash, which resulted in the death of two passengers.
DA Rocah said: “The defendant’s alleged reckless and dangerous behavior cost two people their lives and severely injured another. My Office remains committed to fully and thoroughly investigating vehicular fatalities and prosecuting drivers who jeopardize the safety of our roadways in Westchester County.”
Anthony Rose, 20, was indicted by a Westchester County Grand Jury for two counts of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, two counts of Criminally Negligent Homicide, and Assault in the Second Degree, all felonies, and Assault in the Third Degree and Reckless Driving, both misdemeanors. The defendant was arraigned before Judge George Fufidio in Westchester County Court on January 26, 2023, and bail was set.
On December 18, 2021, at approximately 5:23 a.m., the defendant allegedly drove without a license and with his headlights off, in excess of 100 miles per hour with three passengers in his car on the Cross County Parkway in Mount Vernon before nearly hitting one car, striking a second vehicle, and ultimately crashing head-on into a tree.
Mount Vernon residents Noelina Pantaleon, 20, died at the scene, and Harry Jonathan Hurst, 19, was transported to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where he remained with a traumatic brain injury until he died on March 7, 2022. A third passenger, Nyaquae Henderson, 20, of Mount Vernon, was transported to the hospital and treated for a traumatic brain injury and is still undergoing rehabilitative treatment.
The Westchester County Department of Public Safety arrested the defendant on January 26, 2023. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation.
The case is before Judge Robert Prisco in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief Jonathan Strongin of the Trials and Investigations Division.
Interesting to note that while the incident occured in 2021, the defendant was arrested recently.
The charges against the defendant are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.