by Jerry Burke
Police say that Hill, 39, was found dead by a passerby on the corner of Grant Avenue and Hempstead Gardens Drive just after 3:20 a.m. Saturday morning. Hill had a severe stab wound in his right leg, and the Nassau County Medical Examiner stated that the wound had punctured an artery and caused him to bleed to death.
The investigation moved along quickly after two witnesses came forward saying they saw Hill, who worked in the vinyl siding industry, having a violent altercation with an All Island Taxi cab driver at a gas station on the corner of Eagle Avenue and Woodfield Road.
Police say that according to the witnesses, Hill was walking away from the cab when the driver, whom police have identified as 36-year-old Fred Allen, of Freeport, began to follow a short distance behind. Another argument ensued, and police say Allen struck Hill's leg with a tire iron. The blow caused the puncture wound, and Hill ran away from Allen and toward his home. He succumbed to his injury only a half-mile away from his destination.
According to Det. Sgt. Dennis Barry at a press conference Sunday, the reason for the altercation was a $5 fare. "[Hill] starting taunting [Allen], saying, 'I'm not going to pay you and there is nothing you can do about it,'" said Barry, adding that Hill was being driven home after a night of drinking at the Cathedral Pub on Hempstead Turnpike, in West Hempstead.
"This is a story of how alcohol and anger combined for a tragic end," said Barry. Police believe that Hill was picked up by Allen at the pub shortly before 3 a.m. after his friends had urged him to go home because he was intoxicated. Hill may have asked to be taken to the gas station instead of his home, police say, so that Allen could not find out where he lived.
Hill barely made it a block from the scene of the attack before slumping to the ground and passing out. Police believe his running away from the fight made the injury worsen to the point of fatal blood loss.
Police do not believe Allen intended to kill Hill, but he has been arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter. Barry said Allen did not even know Hill had died when they arrested him Saturday evening at 10:20 p.m. at his Freeport home.
Allen was arraigned Sunday in First District Court in Hempstead. As of Monday, he was being held in Nassau County Jail on a $10,000 bond. If convicted, Allen could face up to 15 years in prison.
