Lakeville Road, Lake Success · Friday, June 6, 2025, about 10:30 p.m.
A 34-year-old New Hyde Park man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, and DWI for a hit-and-run in Lake Success that killed Lidia Rivera, 61, as she walked to a bus stop after her shift as a custodian at a Northwell Health facility.
What happened
According to the Nassau County District Attorney, Rajvir Bharaj spent the evening drinking, first from a bottle of tequila shared with friends and then at a bar in Freeport, where prosecutors say he had four drinks and three shots in under three hours. At about 10:30 p.m. he was driving a 2024 Chevrolet Silverado south on Lakeville Road when he hit Ms. Rivera at high speed as she crossed the street. She was pronounced dead at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
Prosecutors say he did not stop or call 911. He pulled over about half a mile away, repeatedly called a friend who is a New York City police officer, and texted the friend asking whether he should leave. About 15 minutes after emergency crews arrived, he walked back to the scene and was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department's Third Precinct. A blood test taken about five hours after the crash showed a BAC of .12.
The plea
On September 11, 2026, Mr. Bharaj pleaded guilty before Judge Helene Gugerty to second-degree manslaughter (a class C felony), second-degree assault, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death (a class D felony), and driving while intoxicated. He is due back on November 13, 2026, and is expected to be sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison.
What the case shows
Leaving turns a DWI crash into a much bigger case. Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a felony on its own, and it can also cost the prosecution a timely test while adding to the evidence of a guilty mind. It is almost always worse for the driver than staying.
A late test is still evidence. A .12 five hours after the crash does not mean the BAC was .12 at the time of driving. Prosecutors typically rely on the drinking timeline, here reconstructed from the bar, and on expert testimony about how alcohol leaves the body. Challenging that extrapolation is a central part of the defense in any late-test case.
Manslaughter, not only vehicular manslaughter. Second-degree manslaughter requires recklessness rather than intoxication, so it can be proven through the driving itself: the speed, the drinking beforehand, and the conduct after the crash.
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This article is drawn from public court filings, official releases and news reports, and is provided for general information only. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Nothing here predicts the outcome of any other case, and nothing here is legal advice.