She Was 4 Years Old, Leaving a Park in N.Y. — and Then a Suspected Drunk Driver Killed Her

A 4-year-old girl was killed and a 31-year-old man and two young boys were injured when an alleged drunk driver struck them on a sidewalk in Rockland County, N.Y., over the weekend, police said.

Just before 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, June 14, four pedestrians were leaving a park on Old Nyack Turnpike in Spring Valley when a vehicle allegedly drove onto the sidewalk where they were walking and struck them, the Spring Valley Police Department said in a release.

Police and EMTs who arrived at the scene found the disabled car on the sidewalk with the driver wedged inside, according to the release.

The four pedestrians who were struck, including two boys, 5 and 2, were rushed to Westchester Medical Center by ambulance with “varying degrees of injury,” police said in the release.

The 31-year-old man and the 4-year-old girl suffered life-threatening injuries, police said.

“Tragically, the 4-year-old succumbed to her injuries and passed away a few hours later despite all attempted life-saving efforts,” police said in the release. 

The girl was later identified as Goldy Eisenbach, the daughter of Spring Valley Village Trustee Yisroel Eisenbach, New York State Senator Bill Weber said in a post on X.

“My heart breaks for Trustee Eisenbach and his wife on the tragic loss of their 4-year-old daughter, Goldy, who was killed by a drunk driver,” Weber wrote. “Drunk driving is a plague on our society and must be confronted — but today, we mourn.” 

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The driver, identified as Axel Lopez-Santiago, 41, of Spring Valley, was also injured and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital.

The investigation quickly revealed that the driver “may have been under the influence of alcohol,” police alleged in the release.

Lopez-Santiago of Spring Valley was arrested and charged with a slew of crimes including aggravated vehicular homicide with a previous DWI conviction, aggravated vehicular homicide causing the death of one person and serious physical injury of at least one other, vehicular assault in the first degree, and driving while intoxicated.

Lopez-Santiago is being held on $750,000 cash bail.

It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.