Southampton man Benjamin Sheen-Waltzer indicted in hit-and-run death of Angel Asitimbay

A Southampton man was indicted Friday on charges related to fatally striking a pedestrian with his pickup truck on a residential Hampton Bays street in March, officials announced.

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

Sheen-Waltzer pleaded not guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr. to charges of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and tampering with physical evidence, according to court documents.

Asitimbay was pushing a shopping cart loaded with glass bottles and cans on Springville Road around 5 p.m. when the district attorney's office said Sheen-Waltzer hit him from behind with his 2024 GMC pickup truck. Asitimbay was "thrown forward" onto the southbound shoulder, his bottles and cans were spilled onto the roadway, and Sheen-Waltzer allegedly fled the scene, according to a press release.

Asitimbay was pronounced dead soon after he was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center, officials said.

"The indictment handed down today reflects the gravity 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 show a complete disregard for human life and the basic principle that our roadways belong to everyone, drivers and pedestrians alike."

Police retrieved an "M" from a GMC emblem at the scene of the incident and allege it came from Sheen-Waltzer’s pickup, according to the district attorney. After locating Sheen-Waltzer’s truck at his Southampton residence — where it was discovered without any part of the "GMC" emblem — police retrieved the "G" and "C" letters of the logo inside another vehicle registered to Sheen-Waltzer at his place of employment, the district attorney said.

In addition to this evidence, the district attorney's office said video footage shows Sheen-Waltzer's pickup truck traveling on Springville Road with "front end damage." The vehicle’s GPS device also indicated a path leading up to and following the crash, officials said.

"We maintain his innocence," said Robert Macedonio, the Islip Terrace-based defense attorney representing Sheen-Waltzer. Macedonio added that his client "has cooperated fully with law enforcement" throughout the eight-month investigation into the incident.

"We were notified that the grand jury had indicted him, and we made arrangements to surrender him this morning at the Southampton Police Department to be processed," Macedonio said Friday evening. "He was then transported over to the county court."

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