Story by Ethan
On January 29th, 2026, the arrest of Jose Forero, age 72, was announced by Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. Jose Forero was charged with first-degree Vehicular Manslaughter as a C felony, Driving While Intoxicated Per Se as an E felony, Driving While Intoxicated as an E felony, and Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of Alcohol and Any Drug as an E felony. The arrest and charges against Jose Forero were a result of an investigation handled by the Hempstead Police Department and the Nassau County Police Department.
According to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, at approximately 11:40 p.m. on October 31st, 2025, Jose Forero was driving in a 2023 Jeep Gladiator southbound on North Franklin Street in Hempstead, New York. At the same time the victim, 23-year-old William Rojas, was walking with a group of friends eastbound while crossing North Franklin Street between Jackson Street and Centre Street. William Rojas stopped in the left lane to pick up something off the ground when Jose Forero allegedly drove through a yellow light and struck the victim in the left lane of the road. The defendant stopped his vehicle as witnesses called emergency services, leading to the victim being transported to NYU Langone Hospital with fractures to his skull and other severe injuries. William Rojas was pronounced as dead at approximately 3:28 a.m. on November 1st, 2025. Investigation into the collision revealed that Jose Forero initially dropped a family member off at a Halloween party before allegedly going to a bar in Garden City and consuming alcoholic beverages. Blood drawn from the defendant approximately an hour and a half after the impact revealed that he had a blood alcohol content of .12% which is above the legal limit for operating vehicles in New York of .08%. Testing of Jose Forero’s blood also uncovered the presence of the opioid Tramadol in his bloodstream shortly after the incident.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Jose Forero are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
