Bellmore delivery driver Edward Drexel pleads guilty to leaving scene after hitting boy on bike

A Bellmore delivery driver admitted in Nassau court Wednesday he struck a teen cyclist in 2023, leaving the boy in the road with a broken leg, and then tried to cover up the damage to his van.

Edward Drexel, 62, pleaded guilty to leaving the scene and evidence tampering in the Aug. 1, 2023, crash, in which Drexel hit the 14-year-old on his bike. Drexel kept driving and later made repairs to his van to fix the damage, prosecutors said.

The boy was left at the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Saw Mill Road in North Bellmore around 10 a.m. with cuts, bruises and a fractured leg.

Two panels from the vehicle became dislodged at the collision site and led police to Drexel.

When police interviewed him after the crash, the delivery driver told them he was coming home from work when he heard something crash into the driver’s side door of his van.

"I hit the brakes and looked out the rearview mirror and saw a bicycle on the ground," he told Nassau County police. "Either the kid was getting up or someone was helping them up, so I thought they are probably fine. Then I just kept going."

He told police that he was not aware of the damage done to his van until he got home. Though he knew the panels had fallen off during the crash, he said he did not want to go back.

"I thought I should go back, but there might be a commotion, like they would be screaming at me, so I didn’t go back."

The next morning he drove to a car dealer in Queens and bought replacement parts for the van and installed them himself, he said.

"I really didn’t think that I hit him that hard or he got hurt that badly," Drexel told police. "You know, I’m a father and I’m upset with myself. I just kind of freaked out and left. I should have stayed there, but, honestly, I freaked out and left."

Wearing a suit and blue-striped tie Wednesday morning, Drexel pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident where a serious injury occurred without reporting it and tampering with physical evidence, both class E felonies carrying 1⅓ to 4 years in prison.

Prosecutors were asking for 6 months behind bars and 5 years' probation, but agreed to a lighter sentence. Drexel, who still drives a bread delivery van as he has for 36 years, negotiated a third option for 17 consecutive weekends in the lockup instead.

He’s self-employed and needs to provide for his family, New York Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan said.

His license will be suspended, however, for six months as part of the plea deal, the judge said.

Corrigan said the family of the boy has been in touch with prosecutors and approve of the sentence.

"He’s very remorseful, very apologetic and very glad that this young man can put this behind him," Drexel's lawyer, Dennis Lemke, said. "We feel it’s a very fair disposition."

The boy has made a full recovery from his injuries, authorities said.

CORRECTION: The Nassau County District Attorney's Office sought a sentence of 6 months in jail for Edward Drexel.  A previous version of this story misstated the office's position.