Crime & Safety

Coram Man Pleads Not Guilty in Relation to Fatal Hit-and-Run

After a Coram woman was struck jogging down Canal Road in Mt. Sinai in late June, later dying as a result of her injuries, a Coram man pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

A Coram man pleaded not guilty at an arraignment on Wednesday after being arrested in relation to a hit-and-run in Mt. Sinai in late June, which later killed a 56-year-old woman.

Thomas Costa, 31, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident without reporting, according to the office of District Attorney Thomas Spota. He is also charged with a vehicle and traffic violation of speeding.

Karen Benjamin of Coram was jogging on Canal Road, just west of Route 83, around 11 a.m. on June 23, when Costa reportedly struck her and sped off. After undergoing brain surgery two days after the accident, Benjamin died on July 17.

According to Newsday, Costa had been in custody on a parole violation when authorities took him in front of Judge Fernando Camacho in Central Islip.

Costa is due back in court on Aug. 6, and remains held without bail.


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