A Flatbush man has been sentenced to three to six years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter for fatally striking a delivery worker in October 2020, District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Thursday.
Valdez Heron, 31, was driving a 2015 Dodge Charger eastbound on 46th Street toward Ninth Avenue at around 11:50 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2020 when the DA’s office says he ran a red light and struck 43-year-old delivery driver Xiang Wu. Wu was riding a Yamaha SMAX scooter through the intersection at the time of the incident and the force of the impact sent him over the hood of Heron’s car rand onto the pavement.
An investigation found that Heron then jumped out of his car while it was still in drive, causing it to roll down the street and hit a parked car.
Heron was arrested at the scene and pled guilty to second-degree manslaughter in June 2022. Wu was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he had multiple surgeries. He was later transferred to Woodhull Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
“This defendant’s recklessness behind the wheel tragically took the life of a hardworking husband and father,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “He has now been held accountable for his actions. I am committed to keeping Brooklyn’s roads safe for all people.”
The Office of the New York Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be complications from his blunt force injuries.
Heron was sentenced Thursday by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Hecht. The case was prosecuted by Roman Galper, senior assistant district attorney for the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, and Jacob Uriel, assistant district attorney for the Deputy Unit Chief of the District Attorney’s Street Safety Bureau.
