A 41-year-old Babylon man has pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of a fatal hit-and-run that killed a 66-year-old pedestrian in a Freeport crosswalk back in March, then tampering with evidence to cover his tracks. Michael Bonner admitted to striking Narcizo de Jesus Guerra Lopez while he was walking in the crosswalk at East Merrick Road and South Main Street before driving off and, days later, fleeing the state entirely.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced the plea, which resolves a case that began the night of March 25, 2026, when Bonner was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban that was uninsured and unregistered, according to LongIsland.com. “Michael Bonner struck Narcizo de Jesus Guerra Lopez in the crosswalk and left him to die in the street,” Donnelly said, describing the impact of the collision on East Merrick Road. Bonner kept driving eastbound after hitting Guerra Lopez, leaving the victim in the roadway.
Guerra Lopez was rushed to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in critical condition and underwent emergency surgery, but he ultimately died from his injuries on April 3, 2026, more than a week after the crash. A friend later posted a public tribute to him in Spanish, writing, according to Daily Voice, “We will always carry you in our hearts and thoughts… Rest in peace, viejo.”
Surveillance Video and Cell Data Built the Case
Nassau County Police Department detectives pieced together Bonner's movements using surveillance footage from the Oceanside area, where his Suburban's distinctive markings — a large red sticker on the rear windshield and white foam above the rear passenger-side tire — made the vehicle identifiable. Footage showed Bonner walking to the driver's side of that vehicle at 7:57 p.m. on March 25, then stopping at a 7-Eleven on Sunrise Highway roughly half a mile from the crash scene about four minutes before striking Guerra Lopez at 8 p.m., according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. Cell phone data further placed Bonner at the crash scene at the moment of impact.
Investigators say Bonner went home that same night and removed the red sticker from his rear windshield, an act prosecutors say he took specifically to prevent the vehicle from being identified. That decision became the basis for the Class E felony tampering with physical evidence charge, the same account noted. Bonner then fled New York altogether, traveling south to the Carolinas by March 28, before driving back to New York in early April.
Arrest Came 10 Days After the Crash
Hempstead Police Department officers located and pulled Bonner over in Nassau County on April 4, and Nassau County Police Department detectives arrested him at approximately 12:40 p.m. that day. He was held without bail following the arrest and remained in custody through his guilty plea, per Daily Voice's reporting. The Nassau County District Attorney's Office thanked the Nassau County, Hempstead, Freeport, and Garden City police departments for their work on the investigation.
At his arraignment on April 23 following a grand jury indictment, Bonner pleaded not guilty before Judge Caryn Fink, who set bail at $500,000 cash, $1 million bond, or a $1 million partially secured bond, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. At that time, prosecutors noted Bonner faced a maximum cumulative exposure of 3-2/3 to 11 years in prison had he been convicted at trial on all charges.
Guilty Plea Narrows the Sentencing Range
Bonner has now pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an incident without reporting resulting in death, a Class D felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony. He appeared before Judge Fink and is due back in court on December 10, 2026. While the Nassau County District Attorney's Office recommended a sentence of 2 to 6 years in prison, Bonner is expected to be sentenced to just 1 to 3 years under the plea agreement, according to LongIsland.com.
Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 600(2)(a), leaving the scene of an incident without reporting when death results carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in state prison, according to Lebedin Kofman LLP. The statutory maximum penalty, the district attorney's recommendation, and the expected sentence under the plea agreement are distinct sentencing figures.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Nicole Vota of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case, which is supervised by Michael Bushwack, who heads that bureau, and Daryl Levy, who supervises the litigation division. Raymond Baierlein represents Bonner.
Part of a Broader Pattern on Nassau's Roads
The case is one of several hit-and-run fatalities the Nassau County District Attorney's Vehicular Crimes Bureau has prosecuted recently, including a guilty plea secured in September over a fatal Lake Success DWI crash and felony charges filed in a January 2025 fatal hit-and-run in Plainview. Preliminary traffic safety data cited by the Migliore Law firm show Nassau County recorded 28 pedestrian traffic fatalities in 2025, up from 26 the year before, underscoring the ongoing risks pedestrians face on major arterial roads like East Merrick Road.
