Hicksville man pleads guilty to killing bicyclist in drunk-driving crash
The sedan police said Wilfredo Blanco Molina of Hicksville was driving last October when he struck and killed a man riding a bicycle in Westbury.
A Hicksville man pleaded guilty Tuesday to vehicular homicide and being drunk and high on cocaine last year when he crashed into a bicyclist, killing him, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office.
Wilfredo Blanco Molina, 41, pleaded guilty to charges that included aggravated homicide, in the killing of 69-year-old Robert McCarthy of Hicksville.
About 3:40 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2024, McCarthy was riding his bike on Old Country Road near State Street in Westbury when Molina struck him while driving a 2006 Chrysler Sebring, the office wrote in a news release.
Molina, who had been driving from a bar, faces 4 to 12 years in prison at his Dec. 4 sentencing, the release said.
He remained free on bail Tuesday. Relatives of McCarthy could not be immediately reached for comment.
About two hours after the crash, Molina's blood alcohol content was 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08, the release said. Molina's blood also showed evidence of cocaine consumption, the release said.
"The victim was thrown from his bicycle into a telephone pole and was pronounced deceased at the scene," the release said. "Molina fled the scene and continued to drive eastbound on Old Country Road for approximately a quarter mile before his car came to rest because of a flat tire."
Tuesday's guilty plea was before Judge Meryl Berkowitz and also included charges of manslaughter, assault, aggravated driving while intoxicated, driving while ability impaired and leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death.
Molina's lawyer, Christopher Graziano of Mineola, told Newsday that his client, a married father of three who works for a design company, is remorseful.
"He's extremely remorseful. He wanted to acknowledge responsibility and thought there was a reasonable offer from the judge, and that's why he decided to accept the plea," Graziano said.
Molina could have faced 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison on the top charge.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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