The ex-girlfriend of the suspected drunk driver accused of fatally mowing down three people celebrating July Fourth in a Manhattan park was shocked — but “not surprised” — when she learned of his involvement.
Daniel Christopher Hyden’s former partner, with whom he shares a 12-year-old daughter with, told The Post on Friday that Hyden has long struggled with alcoholism and she once warned him that “this would happen one day.”
“He’s supposedly sober but obviously not,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified.
“This is shocking because he hurt people. He killed people. I’m so hurt over that,” she said.
“But I’m not surprised,” she continued.
“Ok, I’m not surprised. This is the reason we’re not together, because of his issues.”
Hyden, a self-proclaimed addict and substance abuse counselor, is charged with driving while intoxicated after he allegedly plowed his truck into a crowd of people at celebrating Independence Day at Corlears Hook Park in the Lower East Side.
The ex-girlfriend said she had just seen Hyden last weekend when she dropped off their daughter at his house in the Bronx and the two went to a fair together in New Jersey.
She said she feels “horrible” after learning what happened.
“I told him this would happen one day. I told him,” she said.
Hyden, 44, “has a long history” with alcohol abuse, she said — but she didn’t know if she was still drinking since they split up in 2016. His father, she said, suffered from the same addiction.
“After we broke up, he went and got his alcohol and drug counselor license. Went back to school to try and better himself,” she said.
“He did want to stop. He wanted to do good. But he had an illness. It’s a lifelong illness.”
His alcoholism made it hard for him to keep a job, she said. For a short time, he was a police officer in Georgia.
Hyden allegedly plowed a gray Ford F-150 through the Water Street and Jackson Street intersection, onto the sidewalk and into the park, striking 11 people who were barbecuing.
Three people were killed.
The deceased victims were identified by police as Lucille Pinkney, 59, and her son Hernan Pinkney, 38 — who lived together near the crash scene — and Ana Morel, 43.
Parkgoers who witnessed the tragedy restrained Hyden from leaving the horror scene as they waited for police to arrive, cops said.
Hyden is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated and for not having a valid license, as well as eight counts of assault in the second-degree.
Hyden was a US Army veteran, according to neighbors and his Facebook profile.
He authored a book published in 2020 titled “the Sober Addict,” which is described as “a practical guide on how to effectively live and cope with the dysfunctional, lifelong disease of addiction.”
Hyden also has a Youtube channel where he bills himself as a Certified Addiction Recovery Coach and Certified Personal Trainer and offers addiction advice and workout videos.
One of his neighbors in the Bronx, who declined to give her name, was shocked to find out that Hyden was involved in such a terrible incident, calling him “a good guy” and “funny.”
“He’s healthy. He works out. He goes to the gym,” she told The Post.
“It was an accident maybe, you never know what’s going on,” she added.
“He was friendly to me. He would only say ‘good morning’ to me. Not to everybody, but to me,” she said.
The superintendent of the building, Miguel, called a “quiet” man who didn’t talk to others much.
“I thought he was good people,” he said.
