'Road Rage' Driver Pleads Guilty To 2nd-Degree Murder: Prosecutors

MINEOLA, NY — A Queens man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to murdering the driver of a vehicle he collided with in Baldwin last year, prosecutors announced.

Patrick Destine, 27, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and two counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

"In a sickening case of road rage fueled by alcohol, Patrick Destine violently attacked the victim David McKenzie after a late-night collision in Baldwin. The defendant kicked and stomped David repeatedly and left him bleeding in the street," said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. "As David lay dying, the defendant also took his credit card and tried to flee the scene."

Donnelly said that on April 15, 2023, at approximately 11 p.m., 54-year-old David McKenzie, the victim, was driving his 2003 Honda near Shuman Place and Forest Avenue in Baldwin when he collided with a 2004 Infiniti driven by Destine with two passengers, including co-defendant Aisha Pitt, causing damage to both vehicles.

After the crash, the victim began to walk away from the crash site. Destine followed him and then started kicking and stomping on the victim’s head repeatedly, Donnelly said.

Destine and Pitt were walking away from the crash when police arrived. The victim was found on the ground bleeding from the head. He was pronounced dead a short time later at an area hospital.

Destine and Pitt were placed in custody by police and taken to a nearby hospital.

Pitt, 20, of Elmont, pleaded guilty on June 28, 2023, to fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and was sentenced to six months in jail.

Destine is due back in court on July 9 for sentencing. He is expected to be sentenced to 18 years to life in prison, the D.A.'s office said.