GRAND JURY CHARGES FORMER POLICE OFFICER WITH VEHICULAR ASSAULT, DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED AND OTHER OFFENSES IN "HIT AND RUN" IN WHICH TWO PEDESTRIANS WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced today that Michael Lombardy, 47, of the Bronx, has been indicted in connection with a "hit and run" accident in which two young pedestrians were seriously injured.

The grand jury indicted Lombardy on two counts of Assault in the second degree, two counts of Vehicular Assault in the second degree, Leaving the scene of an accident without reporting, Resisting arrest, and Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Lombardy is facing a maximum sentence of up to seven years imprisonment if convicted of the most serious Class D felony offense, Assault in the second degree. Lombardy is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in State Supreme Court, Part A, on Tuesday, April 13^th.

The incident that led to the charges against Lombardy occurred at approximately two a.m. on Saturday, March 27, 2004, in the vicinity of White Plains Road and McGraw Avenue. Police Officer Nathaniel Anthony, according to court papers, saw Lombardy driving erratically with no headlights, while sticking his head out of the driver’s side window. The front windshield was shattered. The officer, according to the court papers, said a witness approached him and said that the car Lombardy was driving had struck two pedestrians at Castle Hill and St. Raymond Avenues and did not stop. Lombardy allegedly continued driving and still failed to stop after running two red lights while Officer Anthony pursued him in a marked police vehicle with lights and sirens operating. The defendant was apprehended when his car was overtaken and cut off by the police vehicle. The arresting officer said the defendant’s speech was slurred and incoherent; his eyes were watery and bloodshot and there was a strong distinctive smell of alcohol. There also was blood on Lombardy’s face and on the steering wheel of his car, according to court papers.

The victims, Michael Castano, 21, and Suehaye Santiago, 19, were taken to Jacobi Hospital where they remain in critical condition. Castano is in a coma on a respirator, with a punctured lung and both legs broken. Santiago also is in a coma with head injuries, a broken leg and a broken arm.

The incident in which the two young people were injured occurred only a little over a month after Lombardy, a former New York City Police Department Sargent, was charged with driving while intoxicated in a case that is still pending. That incident occurred on City Island on February 15, 2004.

Assistant District Attorney Nadia Chanza is prosecuting the case.