MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Queens man was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison on Monday for murdering a driver following a car crash in Baldwin in April 2023. Patrick Destine, 28, was convicted of second-degree murder and other charges for killing David McKenzie, 54, after a collision between their vehicles.
Destine pleaded guilty in May to charges of murder, criminal possession of stolen property, and driving under the influence of alcohol. Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced the sentencing, saying the defendant’s violent actions had tragic consequences. “Patrick Destine brutally kicked and stomped on David McKenzie’s head following a late-night collision,” Donnelly said. “This alcohol-fueled rampage cost David his life and ultimately condemned the defendant to a future behind bars.”
The fatal incident occurred on April 15, 2023, around 11 p.m., when Destine’s vehicle collided with McKenzie’s Honda near Shuman Place and Forest Avenue in Baldwin. McKenzie left the crash scene, but Destine followed and attacked him, repeatedly kicking and stomping on his head. McKenzie’s credit card and driver’s license were taken after the assault.
Police arrived to find McKenzie bleeding from the head, and he was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital shortly after midnight on April 16. Destine and a co-defendant, Aisha Pitt, were apprehended near the scene. Pitt, 20, of Elmont, was sentenced to six months in jail in August for her role in the crime.
