Man Pleads Guilty in Hit and Run Death on I-95
Anthony Mangano of Ozone Park pled guilty last week in the hit and run death of tow truck operator Salvatore Brescia of Connecticut.
On Dec. 29, 2016, Mangano was driving a box truck for his employer, a Long Island-based auto parts company. He was traveling north on I-95 and had just passed the New Rochelle toll plaza when he struck and killed Brescia who was standing in the right lane next to his tow truck assisting a driver that had broken down on the side of the highway.
Mangano did not stop but instead continued driving. He exited I-95 north and circled back to view the scene. At this juncture, state police and an ambulance crew had responded. Mangano again went through the New Rochelle toll plaza, passing the scene, and proceeded northbound to his supply run stop in Connecticut. At no time did he stop to report his involvement or provide information to police.
Brescia died of his injuries, which consisted of blunt impact injury to his head, neck torso and extremities. He was struck by the right side view mirror of the truck driven by the Mangano. The force of the impact broke the mirror in pieces.
An intensive investigation by the New York State Police consisted of collecting fragments of the plastic from the broken mirror at the scene. This in turn led them to the company in Ontario Canada that manufactured the plastic mirror and local distributors of the mirror and eventually to Mangano’s employer.
State Police Investigators were then able to identify the Mangano as the driver that left the scene on I-95 on the day of the incident.
EZ Pass and cellphone records were also instrumental in this investigation.
Mangano faces two and one third to seven years in state prison when he is sentenced on March 8, 2018.
