Officials: Arrest made in fatal pedestrian hit-and-run in Lynbrook

A Lynbrook motorist who struck and killed a pedestrian in a hit-and-run Thursday was arrested hours after the accident, police said Friday.

Harley Dix, 48, left the scene of the crash, which occurred at about 8 p.m. on Merrick Road, near Blossom Heath Avenue in Lynbrook, police said.

Dix was arrested later in the evening after police found his gray Nissan at the In N Out convenience store at 300 Mill Rd. in Hewlett, authorities said.

Dix was arraigned Friday at First District Court in Hempstead and pleaded not guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal auto accident. He was held on $40,000 cash or $80,000 bond, court records show.

Vincent Lentini, Dix's Garden City-based defense attorney, said his client was initially unsure that he had struck somebody but later returned to what he believed was the scene of the crash.

"When all the evidence comes out it will show that he didn't intentionally leave the scene of an accident," Lentini said.

Police said Dix struck the male pedestrian with the Nissan as the victim was crossing Merrick Road.

“The vehicle left scene westbound on Merrick Road without stopping,” the news release said.

People who saw the crash gave officers a description of the car that struck the pedestrian, police said.

The pedestrian was taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead, police said. Police are withholding his name until they notify his family.

Dix is due back in court on Tuesday.

With Robert Brodsky