Driver Convicted of Negligent Homicide in Friend's Death

Spring Valley resident Phylip Derival, 26, was convicted Thursday after a bench trial of one count of Criminally Negligent Homicide, a class “E” Felony, relating to the death of 26-year-old Justin Goings in a 2014 car crash.

“By his actions, the defendant displayed a reckless disregard for life," Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe said in the announcement. "People must remember that a car is a weapon and, like a gun or a knife, it can kill, unless it is in responsible hands. This conviction is more than justified.”

On December 18, 2014, Derival was travelling at a speed estimated at over 92 mph northbound on the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Orangetown. He attempted to pass in between two vehicles that were moving in the same direction, police said.

As there was not enough room to pass, Derival collided with a Toyota Highlander that was travelling in the right lane, and forced the other vehicle in the left lane off the roadway and into the southbound lanes. Then Derival lost control of the 2008 Infiniti G37, which left the road and hit a tree, killing his friend Goings. The Infiniti was cut in half, authorities said.

Sentencing is scheduled for October 27, 2016. He faces up to four years in state prison.

First Assistant District Attorney James Mellion and Supervising Assistant District Attorney Joanna DeVito prosecuted the case.