LI Man Pleads Guilty In DWI Hit-And-Run That Killed Custodian: NCDA

LAKE SUCCESS, NY — A New Hyde Park man pleaded guilty to charges related to a DWI hit-and-run that killed a 61-year-old woman in Lake Success, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday.

On Friday, Rajvir Bharaj, 34, pleaded guilty before Judge Helene Gugerty to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death, and driving while intoxicated, the DA's office said.

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Bharaj is due back in court on November 13, and may be sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

"While Lidia Rivera was hard at work at her custodial job, this defendant was tying one on at a Freeport bar, throwing back alcoholic drinks and shots of liquor," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

On June 6, 2025, at about 10:30 p.m., Lidia Rivera finished with her shift as a custodian at a Northwell Health facility and walked to a bus stop after work, DA Donnelly said.

As she attempted to cross Lakeville Road, she was struck by a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed, driven by Bharaj, DA Donnelly said.

According to DA Donnelly, from the impact of the crash, Rivera was launched into the air and propelled forward into the glass bus stop waiting booth.

She "suffered catastrophic injuries, including a skull fracture and the severing of her brain stem from her spinal cord," DA Donnelly said.

After being transported to Long Island Jewish Medical Center, she was pronounced deceased at 11:04 p.m., DA Donnelly said.

DA Donnelly said Bharaj fled the scene and did not call 911 after he struck Rivera, and instead, stopped his vehicle half a mile from the scene, repeatedly called a friend of his who is a New York City Police Officer and sent the friend a text message asking, "should I leave?"

He walked back to the crash scene about 15 minutes after emergency services responded, prosecutors said.

"He selfishly got behind the wheel of his car, setting him on a deadly collision course with Lidia as she walked to the bus stop at the end of her shift," DA Donnelly said. "He struck her with such force her body crashed into the bus stop shelter, shattering the glass; and like a true coward, as Lidia laid crumpled and dying on the pavement, Rajvir Bharaj ran."

About five hours after the crash, his blood was taken and showed a .12 percent blood alcohol concentration, and upon investigation, it was revealed that Bharaj had been at a bar in Freeport, the DA's office said.

Prosecutors said that he had consumed four alcoholic drinks and three shots of liquor at the bar in less than three hours, and he also bought a bottle of tequila earlier that night, sharing it with friends before going to the bar.

He was arrested at the scene on June 7 by the NCPD's Third Precinct, the DA's office said.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney James Taglienti and Deputy Bureau Chief Tara DePalo of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Daryl Levy, and Bharaj is represented by Marc Gann, Esq., the DA's office said.