Former Port Washington School District Superintendent Michael Hynes, 53, pleaded not guilty to upgraded charges of driving while intoxicated and vehicular assault during an appearance at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead on Friday, Feb. 28.
The top charge for vehicular assault, a class E felony, could result in a maximum sentencing of up to four years in state prison if found guilty. Hynes stood before state Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins to face other DWI charges for allegedly driving with a blood alcohol content over the state’s legal limit of .08%.
Along with the new charges, Hynes’ driver’s license was suspended pending the case’s outcome.
Hynes’s recent court appearance comes after his November arrest for striking a motorcycle with his car near his residence in Sayville.
While making a turn driving a 2019 Honda Civic on Railroad Avenue, Hynes hit motorcyclist Alberto Fernandez, 63, of Sayville, who sustained serious injuries and received treatment at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore.
After being treated for minor injuries, Hynes spent the night at the Suffolk County Police’s 6th Precinct and was arraigned the next morning at Suffolk’s First District Court in Central Islip, pleading not guilty. Hynes was released without bail.
Hynes led the Port Washington School District as superintendent for over five years before his arrest, and he was set to retire just weeks after his November arrest.
On Nov. 25, one day after his arrest, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Leadership Christopher Shields became acting superintendent.
The Port Washington Board of Education has been looking for a new superintendent to replace Hynes, and qualifications for candidates include being an instructional leader and administrator with a record as a “visionary who is able to move a successful district to even higher levels of achievement.”
Hynes is set to next appear in court on April 11.
