Driver Pleads Guilty In DWI Crash That Killed Child In Spring Valley: DA

SPRING VALLEY, NY — A local man accused of driving drunk and hitting pedestrians who were on a sidewalk in June, killing a child, has pleaded guilty.

Axel I. Lopez-Santiago, 42, of Spring Valley, has been remanded to the Rockland County Jail without bail, and he is due to be sentenced Feb. 18.

Lopez-Santiago pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, driving while intoxicated, and reckless driving, according to the Rockland County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Lopez-Santiago was driving “recklessly at a high rate of speed” on June 14, 2025 on Old Nyack Turnpike in Spring Valley. His vehicle crossed the double yellow line into the opposite lane, continued off the roadway and onto the pedestrian sidewalk as he approached the entrance to Kennedy Park, according to the district attorney’s office.

Lopez-Santiago then hit the pedestrians and crashed into a tree.

A four-year-old girl died from her injuries. A 31-year-old man and a five-year-old boy sustained serious physical injuries, prosecutors said.

“The investigation revealed that the defendant was intoxicated from consuming alcoholic beverages at the time of the fatal collision,” the district attorney’s office said, in an announcement Monday.

Read more:
Spring Valley, N.Y. Man Arraigned For Crash That Killed 4-Year-Old Girl On Sidewalk With Family