Spring Valley man indicted on further charges after sidewalk crash kills 4-year-old girl
SPRING VALLEY - Police released a detailed report this week about how a Spring Valley man plowed into a crowd of people walking on a sidewalk earlier this month, killing a 4-year-old girl and seriously injuring two others.
Axel I. Lopez-Santiago, 41, has been charged with three counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault, one count of driving while intoxicated as a felony and one count of reckless driving.
Lopez-Santiago is scheduled for arraignment on the indictment on Friday, June 27, before County Court Judge Djinsad Desir in the County Courthouse in New City.
Lopez-Santiago has been held in the county jail since his arrest on $750,000 cash bail set after the fatal incident. He would face a maximum sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charge.
Lopez-Santigato is accused of recklessly driving his motor vehicle at a high rate of speed as he traveled east on Old Nyack Turnpike in Spring Valley on June 14, the Rockland District Attorney's Office said in a news release on Thursday, June 26.
Lopez-Santiago's vehicle veered across the double yellow line and into the opposite lane and off the road onto the pedestrian sidewalk near the entrance to Kennedy Park, the release stated. His vehicle struck at least four people before crashing into a tree.
The girl who died was the daughter of Spring Valley Village Trustee Yisroel Eisenbach. Eisenbach, formerly Spring Valley's former deputy mayor, was instrumental in a plan to refurbish Kennedy Park's play area.
More on Spring Valley crash: 4-year-old Spring Valley girl killed by car while walking on sidewalk; 3 others injured
A 31-year-old man and a 5-year-old boy suffered serious injuries. The police investigation revealed that Lopez-Santiago was intoxicated, authorities said. Another boy, 2, also suffered injuries.
All four were taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, Spring Valley police reported.
The investigation was conducted by the Spring Valley Police Department, with the assistance of officers from the Ramapo Police Department and the Rockland County Sheriff's Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Supervising Assistant District Attorney Sharleen Bailon and Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Dugandzic of the Vehicular Crimes Unit.
A spate of pedestrian crashes has rattled residents of the village of Spring Valley and the town of Ramapo. More than 20 pedestrians had been hit by vehicles across Ramapo from September 2024 through April 2025, police have reported.
Steve Lieberman covers government, breaking news, courts, police, and investigations. Reach him at slieberm@lohud.com Twitter: @lohudlegal. Read more articles and bio. Our local coverage is only possible with support from our readers.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Spring Valley driver hit with further charges after crash kills girl
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canadian firefighter says he was denied entry to U.S.: 'Good enough to fight their wars but not good enough to cross their borders'
A B.C. firefighter says he was denied entry into the United States, where he was going to take part in a competition for First Responders from different countries around the world. Jamie Flynn posted on social media on Thursday to detail what happened to him when he was en route to Birmingham, Alabama. He said he was supposed to represent Vancouver firefighters in the Jiu Jitsu category at the World Police & Fire Games. He described the games as an 'international event uniting frontline responders through sport,' in a post on Instagram. 'Being denied entry to the United States is deeply upsetting,' he told National Post in an emailed statement on Friday. 'I lost my flights, my time away, and my opportunity to compete at the World Police & Fire Games in Alabama — an event I had trained extensively for.' Flynn said he is a British citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident. He is a firefighter in Vancouver and volunteers with Squamish Search and Rescue. He has served in the British Parachute Regiment (SFSG) and has also served alongside U.S. forces under Joint Special Operations Command. 'I operated under U.S. command, wore the American uniform, and fought under the American flag. I've always felt a strong bond with the United States,' he told National Post. 'I have no criminal record and no known issues that would justify this denial.' In his post on Instagram, he said he trained for the competition in the U.S. for months. 'And still, I'm grounded — sidelined not by injury or lack of effort, but by bureaucracy and silence,' he wrote. Flynn intended to fly to Alabama from Vancouver International Airport on Wednesday. He never made his flight because his Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) had expired and would not be renewed, Global News reported. He said he received an update on the ESTA app that said, 'Travel not authorized.' ESTA is an automated system used to determine the eligibility of visitors to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. It is valid for two years, or until a passport expires, and allows for multiple entries. If a traveller receives a 'travel not authorized' response to their application, CBP says online that they can look into applying for a visa if they still wish to enter the country. The denial only prohibits travel under the Visa Waiver Program and does not determine eligibility for a visa, per the agency. Canadian citizens travelling with a Canadian passport do not need to apply for an ESTA. Flynn said that he did not receive an explanation from anyone at the U.S. border, the U.S. consulate or the ESTA program. 'This feels like a clerical error,' he said, and, he added, it's cost him thousands of dollars. 'I'm gutted. I'm angry. And I want answers.' He ended the post with the line: 'We were good enough to fight their wars — but not good enough to cross their borders.' Flynn told National Post that he is looking forward to being able to visit the U.S. again in the near future. He has since submitted a visa application. Unfortunately, he said, the earliest available appointment is Feb. 11, 2027. University of Toronto law professor and Rebecca Cook Chair in Human Rights Law Audrey Macklin said her advice for travellers going to the U.S. is to avoid it altogether 'unless absolutely necessary.' 'Even at the best of times, states often treat non-citizens arbitrarily, and do not feel obliged to explain their actions,' she told National Post over email. 'This is sometimes justified on the ground that non-citizens do not have a right to enter, and therefore have no standing to complain about how a decision to admit or exclude is made. Since the rule of law is in free fall in the United States at the moment, the arbitrariness is more extreme, more coercive, and more frequent. That is why travellers should avoid the United States if they can.' U.S. Customs and Border Protection Public Affairs Officer Jessica Turner said in an emailed statement to National Post that 'CBP cannot comment on specifics regarding travellers' ESTA denials.' 'U.S. Embassies and Consulates are not able to provide details about ESTA denials or resolve the issue that caused the ESTA denial,' she said. 'Embassies and Consulates will process an application for a non-immigrant visa, which, if approved, will be the only way that a traveler whose ESTA application has been denied would be authorized to travel to the U.S.' U.S. deports 70-year-old man after he 'violently' kicked a customs dog at an airport U.S. man drives into Canada by mistake, gets busted with 78 pounds of pot on the way back Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Washington Post
44 minutes ago
- Washington Post
After Minnesota shootings, young lawmakers ask: Is politics worth it?
Greg Scott entered elected office in Pennsylvania at 28, full of optimism. Ten years later, he's full of fear. A stalker left a dummy with a noose and racial slurs hanging above his parking spot. He's received threatening emails and social media posts. And he's watched with horror as fellow elected officials have been attacked and killed.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Two Contrasting Cases Raise Questions of Pope Leo's Actions on Sex Abuse
The contrasts are glaring. In one case, Pope Leo XIV — then known as Bishop Robert Prevost — sided with victims of sexual abuse, locking horns with powerful Catholic figures in Peru. He sought justice for victims of a cultlike Catholic movement that recruited the children of elite families and used sexual and psychological abuse to subordinate members. In another case, Bishop Prevost was accused of failing to sufficiently investigate claims by three women that they had been abused by priests as children. The accused were two priests in Bishop Prevost's diocese in a small Peruvian city, including one who had worked closely with the bishop, according to two people who work for the church. As Leo assumes the papacy, becoming leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, his handling of clergy sexual abuse will be closely scrutinized, and the two cases have left him open to starkly diverging judgments — praise for helping victims in one, claims that he let them down in the other. In the first, victims have hailed as heroic his work taking on the ultraconservative group, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which had grown more influential after Pope John Paul II gave it his pontifical stamp of approval. Breaking with other powerful Catholic figures in Peru, Bishop Prevost arranged talks between victims and church leaders and helped those who suffered abuse to get psychological help and monetary settlements. As he rose through the Vatican's ranks, Bishop Prevost kept raising the pressure on Sodalitium, which was ordered to disband only weeks before -he became the first American to lead the Catholic Church. Colombia Ecuador Chiclayo Brazil Peru Pacific Ocean Lima Bolivia 200 miles By The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
