American man indicted for death of Indian-origin student in hit and run case

NEW YORK: An American man has been indicted for killing an 18-year-old Indian-origin student in November last year when he dragged her with his truck and ran over her while fleeing the scene of a minor crash.

Daniel Coppolo of Deer Park, New York has been arraigned on grand jury indictment charges for the death of Taranjit Parmar in a parking lot in Levittown in Nassau County's Hempstead town, the County's District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a statement.

Coppolo was arraigned yesterday before Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy on charges including of manslaughter, assault, tampering with physical evidence and reckless driving.

His bail was continued at USD 1 million bond or USD 600,000 cash and he is due back in court on May 17. If convicted, he faces up to a maximum of 26 years in prison.

Singas said that on the evening of November 9 last year, Parmar's car was involved in a minor collision with Coppolo's pick-up truck in Levittown. After the incident, the two pulled both vehicles into the parking lot near a gas station. Parmar exited her vehicle and called her mother.

While on the phone with her mother, Parmar yelled for Coppolo to stop and grabbed his pick-up truck as he started to move.

Coppolo allegedly drove through the parking lot, dragging the victim and ultimately ran her over before fleeing the scene by driving the wrong way on the highway. Parmar was transported to the hospital in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead that night.

"Parmar was a beautiful, successful student when her life was taken from her after a minor fender bender," Singas said.

"It is unthinkable that in addition to allegedly driving away with the young woman in the open window and then running her over, the driver fled the scene and left Taranjit to die in the parking lot."

After an investigation, members of the Nassau County Police Department located Coppolo's truck in a parking lot in Westbury, where Coppolo had been arrested for another matter several days after the November 9 incident. ​Coppolo, a former FDNY employee, was arrested on December 23 for Parmar's death.