Ex-official in Yonkers, Westchester charged in Mount Pleasant hit-and-run

A former top Westchester and Yonkers official has been charged in a hit-and-run accident that left a 66-year-old woman seriously injured in Valhalla.

Neil DeLuca, 74, of Hawthorne, appeared in Mount Pleasant Town Court Thursday on a felony charge of leaving the scene of a serious injury accident.

DeLuca is accused of driving into the woman at about 7:45 pm Saturday on Bradhurst Avenue. A motorist reported the accident and police found the victim unconscious on the northbound shoulder of the road.

Police Chief Paul Oliva said the victim, a resident of Sleepy Hollow, was known as someone who frequently walks around the town. He said she was still in the hospital in intensive care.

Detectives were able to use a broken off piece of the car’s front grill to identify the possible car that was involved and county police databases searches narrowed the list of cars located in the area, Oliva said.

On Sunday night, when police went to DeLuca’s home further north on Bradhurst where one of the possible cars was registered, a patrol officer and detective sergeant noticed the car in the driveway appeared to be the one they were looking for.

DeLuca was interviewed, taken into custody and the car impounded, police said.

DeLuca was the Yonkers city manager from 1988 to 1991 during the height of the city's desegregation case. He then became the deputy county executive for five years under Andrew O’Rourke.

He has run the DeLuca Group, a real estate development consulting firm, for the past two decades.

Mount Pleasant Town Judge Mark Rubeo issued an order of protection barring DeLuca from any contact with the victim and a witness in the case.

DeLuca is due back in court on Nov. 16. He and his lawyer, Michael Santangelo, declined comment as they left court.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Mount Pleasant NY hit-and-run; Ex-Yonkers city manager DeLuca charged