Tags Posts tagged with "Lydia Ciminelli"

Lydia Ciminelli

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Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. Photo from Tierney's office

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Nov. 29 that Michelle Karp, 28, of Oakdale, was indicted for the felony charges of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting and Tampering with Physical Evidence, after fatally striking 72-year-old Lydia Ciminelli, of Lake Ronkonkoma, who was crossing the street.

“Striking a pedestrian and driving away, leaving them injured and lying in the road, is no accident,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This defendant allegedly did just that and attempted to cover it up. This is a serious crime and we will treat it as such.”

According to the investigation, on August 7, 2023, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Karp was driving a gray 2009 Nissan Maxima southbound on Rosevale Avenue in Lake Ronkonkoma, when she allegedly struck the victim who was crossing the street. Karp then allegedly drove away from the scene without rendering aid to the victim and failed to report the collision to law enforcement. The victim was brought to Stony Brook Hospital where she died as a result of the injuries. Two hours after the crash occurred, Karp allegedly replaced the broken windshield on her vehicle, which allegedly cracked during the crash.

During their investigation, law enforcement recovered car parts in the roadway where the collision occurred, which were allegedly matched damage on Karp’s Nissan.

On November 29, 2023, Karp was arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Steven A. Pilewski, for one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, a Class D felony, and one count of Tampering with Physical Evidence, a Class E felony. Justice Pilewski placed Karp on supervised release during the pendency of the case and suspended her New York State driver’s license. Karp is due back in court on December 19, 2023, and she is being represented by Daniel Russo Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Curtin of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective Valentin Rosado Jr. of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Major Case Unit.

File photo

Update: Suffolk County Police today arrested an East Northport woman for leaving the scene of a motor
vehicle crash that killed a pedestrian earlier this year. Michelle Karp, 28, was charged with Leaving the Scene of an Incident Resulting in Death and Tampering with Physical Evidence, for fleeing the scene of a crash that
killed Lydia Ciminelli, 72, of Lake Ronkonkoma, on Rosevale Avenue in Ronkonkoma on August
7.

Below is the original press release:

Suffolk County Police Major Case Unit detectives are investigating a hit-and-run crash that killed a
pedestrian in Ronkonkoma on Aug. 7.

Lydia Ciminelli was crossing Rosevale Avenue, just south of Motor Parkway, at approximately 9:30
a.m. when she was struck by a southbound vehicle, described as a dark-colored sedan, that fled the
scene.

Ciminelli, 72, of Lake Ronkonkoma, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where she was
pronounced dead.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on this crash to call the Major Case Unit at 631-852-
6553 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.