By Gina Martinez
A Corona man has been charged after a Thanksgiving hit-and-run that left a 71-year-old man in critical condition, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
Carmine Minichino, 52, has been charged with speeding through a stop sign while under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license and then fleeing the scene, the DA said.
According to Brown, Minichino acted selfishly when he left the scene without offering any assistance to the victim.
“A 71-year-old Queens man is lucky to be alive today after being hit and seriously injured while out walking in Whitestone on Thanksgiving Day,” Brown said. “An alleged drunk driver is now charged with this near-fatal crash. It is alleged that he abandoned his vehicle a short distance away and then returned to the scene with his keys in hand to retrieve the vehicle.”
Minichino was arraigned last Friday in Queens Criminal Court on a criminal complaint charging him with assault, vehicular assault, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting serious physical injury, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failure to stop for a stop sign and driving as an unlicensed operator.
On Nov. 23, at 6:50 p.m. at the intersection of 17th Road and Murray Street, officers responded to a 911 call of a pedestrian struck.
The complaint said Minichino was driving a 2009 white Chevy van in Whitestone when he sped through a stop sign and hit 71-year-old Paul Sim, causing Sim to land several feet away.
Minichino’s white van allegedly ran over Sim after hitting him and Minichino then sped away from the scene, the charges said. Sim was taken to Flushing Hospital with a compound fracture to his right leg and bleeding on the brain, which will require several extensive surgeries to repair, Brown said.
The DA said Minichino abandoned his van near the scene of the accident and fled on foot. Minichino allegedly returned to drive his van when officers said he had a moderate odor of alcohol on his breath and bloodshot, watery eyes.When police requested to see his driver’s license Minichino was unable to produce a valid license, according to the complaint.
Brown said Minichino was taken to the 112th Precinct, where he was given an intoxilyzer exam and the results indicated that he had a .152% per centum or more of alcohol in his blood, nearly twice the legal limit of .08 in New York City.
Minichino was ordered to return to court Dec.11 If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison.
Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmart
