10 Months After Fatal Hit-And-Run, Case Still Ongoing

Ten months after a hit-and-run crash left a 21-year-old Kings Park man dead, prosecutors continue to weigh the facts of the case of a man who surrendered himself to authorities after the incident.

Kieran Smith was found dead on the side of Express Drive South in Brentwood on the morning of April 2, 2012, after police said his car broke down in the middle of the night while driving down the road.

Ronkonkoma resident Craig Perkins was charged with a felony crime of leaving the scene of an accident, and has remained free on $5,000 cash bail since last June.

Perkins turned himself into the District Attorney's office three days later – after Smith's sister had made a public appeal for the driver to surrender – in the company of Northport attorney Edward Yule, who said on Wednesday that both sides are working toward a resolution of the case.

"We are trying to resolve this in the most fair and favorable way we can under the circumstances," Yule said.

"Obviously my client feels devastated about what happened, and this was an accident," he added. "And he feels bad for the family. But it was an accident."

Currently, the county probation department is conducting a pre-plea investigation of Perkins, a process Yule said is meant to offer an unbiased report "about his life, family, upbringing, what he does for a living ... to give the judge a better idea of the defendant for the purposes of a resolution."

The DA's office, according to a spokesman, does not comment on ongoing legal negotiations, and Perkins is due in court next week as proceedings continue.

Smith's father, Harry, told Newsday after the death of his son that instead of calling his parents after his car broke down, he was likely attempting to get a tow instead of waking up his parents so late at night. Smith was reportedly studying to become a physician's assistant.

Said Smith: "He was such a good kid that rather than calling his father and waking him up at 3:30 in the morning ... He happened to be a special kid."