Gen V Hits & Kills Man & Dog (Old Bethpage, NY)

[ViperCollector]

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/...lls-man-walking-dog-in-old-bethpage-1.6101502

A man charged with a felony for leaving the scene of an accident after his car struck and killed an Old Bethpage man and his dog was not intoxicated or under the influence of drugs at the time, his attorney said Thursday.


Police said Matthew Johnstone, 37, of North Massapequa, was southbound on Round Swamp Road in Old Bethpage in his 2013 Dodge Viper when he hit Robert Michels, 42, and his dog about 12:27 a.m. Thursday. Johnstone left without stopping, but "had a change of heart and came back to the scene," where he was arrested, a police spokeswoman said.


"The key part of this case is that he returned, my information is, within a half-hour of this event. All [drug and alcohol] tests conducted on him were absolutely negative," attorney Kevin Keating of Garden City said after Johnstone was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.


"He fully cooperated with police," Keating said.


Michels was pronounced dead at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow at 1:05 a.m. The dog died at the scene, police said.


Michels, a construction worker, sometimes took nighttime walks with Scrappy, his 6-year-old Labrador-husky mix, said his older brother Frank Thomas Michels, who described the victim as exceptionally generous and friendly. "He was definitely an outgoing person, everybody that knows him loved him -- we've got people coming by and you know just expressing their love," he said.


The accident took place after Johnstone had left his job as an X-ray technician at Huntington Hospital, Keating said.


He was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a D-level felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison if convicted, the Nassau County district attorney's office said.
Judge Eric Bjorneby set bail at $20,000 bond or $10,000 cash and Johnstone did not enter a plea. He remained in jail late Thursday.


Surviving Michels are his mother, Esther; father, Frank; brothers, Frank and James; two nieces; and two nephews.


"He was a great brother and he was the type of guy who wished no harm on anyone but also he was a smart person, very intuitive and, man, we're going to miss him," his oldest brother said.

 

[redrichard]

Sounds like Newsday got it wrong again, post indicate it was a 2013 Dodge Avenger. We Viper owners know SRT makes the 2013 Viper.

 

[ViperSmith]

Sad story. Sounds like the old man was walking his dog on a back road from the story and comments? Dangerous.

Bad situation all around.

 

[tbsviper]

Sad for everyone involved. Be careful out there!

 

[v10enomous]

Wow.. see the comments...



MC
• an hour ago △ ▽
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I grew up with this dude. He has always been a jock clown. What he did as a teacher violates everything a teacher is supposed to be. Now he kills a good man who's family will be heartbroken forever. I went to Jr. high and high school with him. He was a complete ******* then and he's a total disgrace to humanity now. I feel bad for his ex-wife and children. And yes it certainly wasn't a Viper. He couldn't even afford the tires on a viper. Go run to your future father in-law the retired NYC detective. That's the kind of person Johnstone is. Rather than getting out of the car to help the poor man he struck, he took off and ran away. His future father in-law should give Johnstone a lesson on how to be a real man before he lets his daughter marry such an embarrassment. Matt Johnstone you are a total embarrassment to everyone who grew up in Islip Terrace/East Islip. The Judge needs to give him a lot more than 7 years. Hey Matt enjoy prison loser!




MC
• an hour ago △ ▽
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Here are the facts for those who are so warped. He slept with a teenage student when he was in his 30's. He did not have a viper, he had a brand new pick up and totaled it over the summer. He is now driving a dodge avenger. While sleeping with the student he was married and his wife was carrying twins. He also stalked her at her senior prom. That is when the parents started to get involved in the lawsuit. While working at a gym as a personal trainer, he started an affair with his now so called future wife. They were both married with young children. Now he runs over a man and his dog and leaves. There is nothing to defend with this guy. 17 or not, its ILLEGAL. Skanky? Even if she was, she was a child. And her actions are not to be compared with a 30 year old superior who in charge of students safety! And the victim walking after midnight, has every right to walk at any time of day or night. He worked late shifts! And have you ever hit anything with your car? You can feel if you run over a bird or squirrel, so he KNEW damn well what he did! He ran home to get his girlfriends daddy to try and save him. He deserves to be in jail. This is a person with not morals. And if it was your 17 year old daughter, Im sure you wouldn't be so forgiving!

 

[Danconyes]

Old man? Yikes the guy was only 42 years old!!!

 

[GTS-R 001]

Sad story. Sounds like the old man was walking his dog on a back road from the story and comments? Dangerous.

Bad situation all around.

42 year old guy got killed, town is called Old Bethpage so the called him an Old Bethpage "man"

 

[Vic]

Leave a dying man at the side of the road, what a low life **** bag. Just look at the moronic expression in his mug shot. Looks like his IQ matches his shoe size.

 

[stingray23]

Leave a dying man at the side of the road, what a low life **** bag. Just look at the moronic expression in his mug shot. Looks like his IQ matches his shoe size.

+1

Real bottom of the barrel low life.

 

[Nine Ball]

Calling an Avenger a "Viper" is a lot like calling a shotgun an "AR-15".

Stupid media, always sensationalizing things.

RIP man and dog. This killer sounds like a low-life.

 

[Fatboy 18]

JUST WHY DO THE MEDIA ALWAYS GET THINGS SO WRONG?

Why is it they can not get the basic things right?

We had a similar thing the other evening on our National News, a Police officer got knocked over by a car in a Hit & Run, they could not even get the area right! Is it really so hard?

 

[CEJ]

Seems that journalism is a dying vocation. The old who, what, when, where, why has been replaced with opinion, speculation, political slant, and maybe the occasional fact.