GREENWICH VILLAGE — The nephew of model Tyson Beckford was convicted of vehicular homicide and manslaughter by a jury Friday after killing an MTA bus driver after a night of partying in 2014.
Domonic Whilby, 25, stole a delivery truck from the loading dock of the Dream Hotel in Chelsea a little after 5 a.m. on February 12, 2014, after a night of heavy drinking, according to court records.
He took it for a joyride, injuring four people, and eventually crashing into a MTA bus at West 14th Street and Seventh Avenue, killing the bus driver, William Pena, who was thrown from the vehicle, court records show.
“Because of Domonic Whilby’s reckless decisions, a beloved family member and public servant is dead,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement. “This was a devastating and utterly preventable tragedy. My heart goes out to Mr. Pena’s family, friends, and coworkers, as well as the four other pedestrians, passengers, and motorists who were injured that day.”
Whilby's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of the crash, prosecutors said, and he had reportedly been partying with Beckford and other models.
A New York State Supreme Court jury found Whilby guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and reckless endangerment in the second degree.
He is expected to be sentenced on April 25.
