45°
John Dineen, 26, admitted in Superior Court in Jersey City that he sped off after striking Germaine Forrester of the Springfield Gardens section of Queens with his 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser as he crossed the four-lane highway that leads to the Pulaski Skyway around 12:45 a.m. on July 15, 2010.
River Vale Sgt. Chris Bulger stopped the speeding SUV about a half-hour later, spotted the freshly-smashed headlight and asked Dineen where he’d come from.
“Holy s—! I killed that guy?” the sergeant said Dineen told him.
His breath smelled of alcohol, said Bulger, a certified drug recognition expert who has won several Mothers Against Drunk Driving awards.
Dineen failed a field sobriety test, then refused a breath test, and Bulger took him into custody, authorities told CLIFFVIEW PILOT at the time.
He was brought to Hackensack University Medical Center for a blood-alcohol test but refused that, as well, they said.
Dineen was held until he could be taken back to Jersey City.
Police also quoted him at Jersey City’s North District Police Station as saying: “Please give me something to throw up in. I’m gonna be sick thinking about the guy I just hit.”
A judge determined that was cause enough to charge him with death by auto.
Dineen pleaded guilty Friday, through a deal with prosecutors, to leaving the scene of a fatal motor crash and failing to submit to the alcohol tests.
Scheduled to be sentenced on April 18, he remains free on $50,000 bail.
MUGSHOT: Courtesy JERSEY CITY PD
Click here to follow Daily Voice Hackensack and receive free news updates.
