By Anthony Rifilato
The incident took place Sept. 26 at around 7:45 p.m., as Daniel Morales, 48, of 3089 Western Boulevard drove his 1996 Ford sedan westbound on Lincoln Street in Baldwin Harbor, just off Grand Avenue. Police said Morales - whose 5-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter were in the car - struck a 33-year-old resident who was working on his car, seriously injuring him. After hitting the man, Morales attempted to flee, and police said that he continued west, careering into a parked car before arriving at a dead end. At that point he put the car in reverse at high speed, striking three more vehicles parked along the narrow street as he tried to make a getaway, police said.
At the corner of Lincoln and Fisherman's Road, Morales came to a stop, and the owner of one of the damaged parked cars managed to detain him, with the help of a neighbor. Police said that Morales was held until officers arrived.
A woman who lives near the corner, who asked not to be identified, said she witnessed the entire incident and described a chaotic scene in what she characterized as a normally quiet, idyllic neighborhood. "Nothing happens here," she said. "I came out to smoke a cigarette, and all of a sudden this car went flying down the road. I stood up and heard a bang. He came back this way and hit every car on the way down."
The woman's husband helped the neighbor remove Morales from his car, she said. "They ripped him out of the car," she said.
The woman called 911, and police arrived at the scene within minutes as Morales was subdued, she said. "The police officer told [Morales], 'Do you know what you did? You hit someone -- there's a man lying in the street,'" the woman recalled.
The victim suffered a broken leg and a hip injury, and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at Nassau University Medical Center. No one at the man's home answered the door last week.
Morales, according to the police and the witness, appeared to be drunk and dazed, and grew belligerent when police tried to arrest him. "The guy reeked [of alcohol]," the woman said, adding that she looked after his children as police officers confronted Morales, who became defiant.
"He started yelling - that man was insane," said the woman, adding that Morales did not appear to speak English. "It was so traumatic, it was like the twilight zone."
Police said that during the arrest, Morales became combative and injured 1st Precinct officer Timothy Dilena, who was treated at Nassau University Medical Center and released.
With Morales's car blocking the street and with Morales fighting with police, the witness said, access was limited for emergency vehicles responding to the scene to assist the injured resident. "There was like 15 cops, and the guy was fighting all of the cops," she said.
Police said that Morales is 5 feet 6 and weighs 160 pounds. Although he resisted arrest, Detective Sgt. Roy Gorddard said that there were not as many police involved in the scuffle as the witness reported. "I don't think there was 15," Gorddard said. "He tried to kick [an] officer in the face. He was belligerent and resisted arrest. In a residential neighborhood, when someone causes this much damage, it's hellish."
After police finally subdued Morales, he was placed in a squad car, though, according to the witness, he did not go quietly, continuing to flail about. "He started to kick the windows," the woman said. "But the only thing I was thinking about was the kids."
It is not known what set Morales off or why he had his children in the car while he was allegedly intoxicated, but police said they believe he was baby-sitting his kids.
"He could have gotten lost in the neighborhood," Gorddard said.
Calls to Morales's home were not returned at press time, though a reportedly relative told a daily paper that he was not drunk, but rather taking medication to treat headaches and a sore throat. The relative also reportedly said that Morales was at a park with his kids before the accident.
But the witness disagreed, saying she smelled alcohol on his breath and saw a couple of liquor bottles inside his car, including a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon. Police would not say whether they found open liquor bottles in the vehicle, but they did say Morales was dazed and drunk.
According to police, Morales was driving with a revoked license, and after he was arrested, he was transported to Nassau University Medical Center for observation. He was charged with driving while intoxicated, first- and second-degree vehicular assault, second-degree assault, resisting arrest, endangering the welfare of a child, leaving the scene of an accident with serious physical injury, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. He was arraigned on Sept. 27 in First District Court in Hempstead.
Morales's children were given to their mother when she arrived at the scene. "Thank god these kids weren't hurt," the witness said.
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