Drunk Driver Who Killed MTA Bus Driver In Chelsea Will Serve Up To 25 Years In Prison

CHELSEA, NY — A man who smashed a stolen truck into an MTA bus, killing the bus driver, will serve up to 25 years in prison.

Domonic Whilby was given the maximum sentence Tuesday.

Whilby, the nephew of model Tyson Beckford, was drunk when the accident happened in Chelsea. He was convicted of vehicular homicide and manslaughter in March, but the jury did not find him guilty of murder, the highest charge sought by prosecutors.

Whilby, 25, was drinking and smoking with his famous uncle in the Meatpacking District in February 2014. He was reportedly so intoxicated that he was kicked out of the 1 Oak club before drunkenly stealing a delivery truck parked on the street.

In the early morning hours of February 12 2014, prosecutors said he drove the truck through Chelsea, striking multiple vehicles before barreling into an MTA bus and killing its driver, William Pena. Four others were also injured by Whilby, prosecutors said.

Pena's widow, Nancy Rodriguez, asked the judge to give Whilby a hefty punishment at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, the New York Post reported.

"My beloved William died like an animal," she said, according to the Post. "Domonic Whilby as a grown adult acted on his own and made choices to drink one drink after another."

Lead image via Shutterstock.