A Levittown man pleaded guilty for his role in an October 2025 DWI crash in North Bellmore that killed a 63-year-old motorcyclist.
On October 26, 2025, at approximately 11:01 p.m., Patrick Thompson was traveling west on North Jerusalem Avenue near the intersection of Sherman Avenue in North Bellmore when he attempted to make a left turn into a convenience store parking lot as 63-year-old Daniel Bliss was driving his 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound on North Jerusalem Avenue.
Thompson struck the victim’s motorcycle nearly head-on, throwing the victim to the ground. Bliss suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
After the crash, Thompson exited his vehicle, looked at the victim, and fled the scene on foot.
The Nassau County Police Department’s K-9 Unit responded to the scene and located Thompson more than an hour later and nearly half a mile from the crash scene, hiding in a tree-filled sump. The defendant displayed several signs of intoxication.
A blood sample taken from Thompson revealed his blood alcohol content was .18% approximately three hours after the crash.
Thompson, 59, was arrested by detectives of the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on October 27, 2025.
Patrick Thompson, 59, pleaded guilty on February 25, 2026, before Judge Robert Bogle to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (a Class B felony); Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting (a Class D felony); and Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated Per Se (an unclassified misdemeanor).
Thompson is expected to be sentenced to 6 to 18 years in prison on April 2, 2026.
“Patrick Thompson was more than two times the legal limit for alcohol when he crashed into Daniel Bliss’ motorcycle. Instead of taking responsibility, this defendant fled, leaving Daniel to die in the street, and was found by K-9 officers cowering behind trees in a sump nearly a half mile away,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
“He may have run, but he could not hide from prosecution, and with today’s guilty plea, my office is taking another dangerous driver off our roads to prevent further senseless tragedies like this one,” Donnelly continued. “Our thoughts are with Daniel’s family and friends as we see this case through to sentencing.”