Crime & Safety
Man Pleads Guilty To Driving Incident That Killed Girlfriend's Daughter
He knowingly drove while teenagers were seated on his trunk, causing them to fall off and into the street in 2015, the DA said.
A Westbury man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges connected to driving while two teenage girls were seated on his trunk in 2015, killing one of the girls who was his girlfriends' daughter, according to Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas.
Herbie McLeod, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, resisting arrest and third-degree assault.
“[McLeod] drove in an incredibly dangerous manner that stole the life of an 18-year-old girl and injured a 16-year-old,” Singas said in a press release. “He knew those girls were sitting on the trunk – and he decided to drive off anyway."
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According to the DA, a 16-year old and 18-year-old girl were sitting on the trunk of a BMV, occupied by McLeod, that was parked on the side of Brook Street in New Cassel in July 2015. McLeod then, knowing the teens were on the trunk of the car, began driving the car, the DA said. He failed to stop at a stop sign, made a U-turn and picked up speed as he drove back up Brook Street, causing both girls to fall off the trunk and land in the street, according to the DA.
McLeod exited the car and began slapping the face of the 18-year-old while she was on the ground as an attempt to wake her up while the 16-year-old girls was bleeding from the face, the DA said.
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McLeod then picked the teens off the ground and drove them back to his girlfriend's home where he put them to bed, the DA said.
When 18-year-old girl's mother discovered the girls, her daughter was unconscious. The girls were transported to the hospital, where it was discovered the 18-year-old suffered skull fractures and brain swelling. She was later pronounced dead. The 16-year-old suffered abrasions, which left scars on various parts of her body, and was on crutches and in a boot for an ankle injury that required physical therapy for four months. She also had surgery to sew a nail back on her finger.
McLeod is due back in court on September 15 and is expected to be sentenced to 3 1/2 to seven years in prison.
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