Gurpreet Oberoi, NRI, Indian American, arrested allegedly
running over a man with his vehicle, hit-and-run accident

January 13, 2004

Saturday, about 11:45 p.m. , NRI, Gurpreet Oberoi, 26, was with two friends in the green 1999 Chevrolet Suburban that he reportedly stole from his father two months ago.

After hitting and killing Peter Hornbeck in Manhattan, New York, abandoned his utility vehicle nearby and continued with a planned trip to Atlantic City by taking a bus. Hornbeck, a manager at a TriBeCa bakery and aspiring high school teacher, was dragged for a block by the 5,200-pound SUV, according to police. Hornbeck's mangled body was trapped under the car and dragged for a block. He died at the scene.

His two friends were too upset to continue their planned gambling trip, Oberoi made his way to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, where he hopped a bus to Atlantic City. It was not until he called his friends - and asked them to fetch his passport so he could flee the country. Hours later, Oberoi's two friends walked into the 34th Precinct in Washington Heights and told detectives that they had been in the vehicle that struck Hornbeck. They also told the cops where Oberoi was.

His friends called to Oberoi's cell phone and told that they were cooperating with police and convinced him to return to New York City to surrender. Oberoi, whose driver's license was revoked seven years ago for speeding, never slowed down, police said. As Oberoi's bus pulled into the Port Authority about 1 a.m. yesterday, waiting detectives arrested him, police said.

Oberoi was charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, unauthorized use of a vehicle and driving with a suspended license, police said.

The tragedy unfolded about 11:45 a.m. Saturday as Hornbeck, who planned to become a high school teacher, was struck at 96th St. and Park Ave. by a Chevy Surburban. As his friends watched in horror, the young man was dragged about a block north.

Police said that Oberoi's father, Gurcharan Singh, who runs a Tandoori Express restaurant in Queens, had reported on Nov. 14 that Oberoi took his car from his Richmond Hill home and did not return it.