Southampton man Benjamin Sheen-Walzer charged with hit-and-run killing of Angel Asitimbai

A Southampton man was charged Friday after fatally hitting a pedestrian with his pickup truck on a residential street in Hampton Bays in March, officials announced.

Benjamin Sheen-Waltzer, 32, of Southampton, allegedly struck pedestrian Angel Asitimbai, 67, of Hampton Bays, with his vehicle on the evening of March 6, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to court documents, Sheen-Walzer pleaded not guilty before Acting Superior Court Judge Anthony S. Senft, Jr. on charges of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting it and tampering with physical evidence.

Asitimbai was pushing a cart loaded with glass bottles and cans on Springville Road around 5 p.m. when Shin-Walzer hit him from behind with his 2024 GMC pickup truck, the district attorney’s office said. According to the press release, Asitimbai was “thrown forward” onto the southbound shoulder, his bottles and cans were thrown onto the roadway, and Sheen-Waltzer allegedly fled the scene.

Asimitbay was pronounced dead shortly after being transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center, officials said.

“Today’s indictment reflects the seriousness of this tragic and preventable loss of life,” Tierney said in a statement. “Our streets and roadways are shared spaces where pedestrians have every right to feel safe. The defendant’s alleged actions demonstrate a complete disregard for human life and the fundamental principle that our roadways belong to everyone, drivers and pedestrians alike.”

At the scene, police removed the letter “M” from the GMC emblem and say it came from Sheen-Walzer’s pickup truck, according to the district attorney. After locating Sheen-Walzer’s truck at his residence in Southampton, where it was discovered without any part of the “GMC” emblem, police removed the letters “G” and “C” of the logo from inside another vehicle registered to Sheen-Walzer on his place employment, said the district attorney.

In addition to that evidence, the district attorney’s office said video footage shows Sheen-Waltzer’s pickup truck driving down Springville Road with “front-end damage.” The car’s GPS device as well pointed the way leading up to and after the crash, officials said.

“We maintain that he is innocent,” said Robert Macedonio, the Islip Terrace attorney who represents Sheen-Walzer. Macedonio added that his client was “fully cooperative with law enforcement” during the eight-month investigation into the incident.

“We have been notified that a grand jury has indicted him and we have agreed to turn him over to the Southampton Police Department this morning for processing,” Macedonio said Friday night. “Then he was taken to the district court.”

Sheen-Walzer posted a $50,000 bond and is currently out of custody, Macedonio said. The Southampton man is due back in court on December 18.