Man Falls Asleep, Fatally Strikes Young Gifted Pianist With Car In Red Hook: Here’s His Fate

A driver who admitted to falling asleep at the wheel and causing the crash that killed a gifted 24-year-old college student and pianist in Dutchess County will spend time in jail.

Linh Hong Nguyen

Rohan Patrick

Rohan Patrick, age 42, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 17, to 364 days in jail

after pleading guilty in March to criminally negligent homicide

in connection with the crash, Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi announced.

The sentence follows a tragic crash that occurred on May 25, 2024, in the Village of Red Hook, when Patrick, driving a 2017 Ford Fusion, struck and killed Linh Hong Nguyen, a promising young musician from Hanoi, Vietnam who had recently completed her Master of Music in Instrumental Studies at Bard Conservatory.

Nguyen had been set to begin her doctoral studies at Stony Brook University in the fall of 2024.

According to prosecutors, Patrick was driving 50 to 60 mph in a 30-mph zone and had been struggling to stay awake for at least 30 minutes before the crash. He admitted in court to failing to recognize the substantial risk that he could fall asleep, lose control of his vehicle, and cause serious harm.

“This has been a heartbreaking case from the very beginning,” Parisi said in a statement following the sentencing, adding, “The loss of Linh Hong Nguyen—a bright, compassionate young woman—has left a void that cannot be filled.”

Patrick was investigated by the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Unit Chief Jennifer Fluck. The case was heard by Judge Jessica Segal.