Unlicensed Mount Vernon Driver Gets Prison In Fatal High-Speed Crash

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The repercussions of a tragic moment on the Cross County Parkway more than two years ago are still echoing for the victims, the families and the driver responsible.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced on Wednesday that a Mount Vernon man was sentenced to an indeterminate term of 2½ to 7½ years in prison for causing the high-speed crash that killed two passengers and severely injured a third.

"The devastating consequences of the defendant's selfish and reckless behavior killed two young people and permanently altered the life of another," Rocah said. "We hope today’s sentence provides a measure of solace to the victims and their families."

Anthony Rose, 21, pleaded guilty on April 4 to two felony counts of second degree manslaughter and felony second degree assault.

On Dec. 18, 2021, at approximately 5:23 a.m., Rose, who did not have a driver’s license, drove in excess of 100 miles per hour, with his headlights off with three passengers in his car on the Cross County Parkway in Mount Vernon before nearly hitting one car, striking a second vehicle, and finally crashing head-on into a tree.

Mount Vernon resident Noelina Pantaleon, 20, died at the scene, and Mount Vernon resident Harry Jonathan Hurst, 19, was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where he remained with a traumatic brain injury until he died on March 7. A third passenger, Nyaquae Henderson, 22, also of Mount Vernon, was taken to the hospital and treated for a traumatic brain injury and will undergo rehabilitative treatment for the remainder of her life.

The Westchester County Department of Public Safety arrested Rose on Jan. 26, 2023. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Vehicular Crimes Bureau Chief Jonathan Strongin, with assistance from the DA's Criminal Investigators Squad and the Victims' Justice Center.