Long Island, NY, Man Charged after Striking, Killing Off-duty Firefighter
A Long Island man has been arrested for running over and killing a beloved volunteer firefighter last month as he crossed a street.
Yonatan Cohen, 21, of Hewlett, was charged with leaving the scene of an incident in connection with the Dec. 18 incident left Hewlett Firefighter Jeffrey Frank, 74, dead, LI Herald reported.
Witnesses told Nassau Police say they saw the driver stop briefly to drag the victim to the roadside before leaving the scene.
But Cohen's lawyer disputes that claim saying his client stayed at the scene but left before providing information to police.
Cohen, who called it a tragedy, but not a crime, was released on $200,000 bail. He ran away from the media following the hearing.
Fellow firefighters said their 35-year member was known for his encyclopedic knowledge of music, which he put to use as a longtime DJ, a tremendous singing voice —performing karaoke was a favorite pastime.
“He was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. He had an emphatic heart," Rabbi Ronald Androphy, rabbi emeritus of the East Meadow Beth-El Jewish Center who serves as the chaplain for the East Meadow Fire Department, said at Frank's funeral last month.
