Twin brothers indicted in duplicate hit-and-run charges

Brothers Christopher Bacayon (left) and Benedict Bacayon: What are the odds?

Brothers Christopher Bacayon (left) and Benedict Bacayon: What are the odds?

Two Long Island brothers may go down in New York State history as twins indicted in identical crimes.

In October 2013, Benedict Bacayon, a technology professional from West Babylon, was arrested for “fleeing the scene” of a hit-and-run offense while he was driving his 2006 Mercedes Benz CL500. He is in his 30s.

Just recently on March 29, his brother Christopher Bacayon, 36, was involved in the same violation while driving his Nissan automobile: leaving the scene of a car accident. The victim, a wheelchair-bound man, suffered a fractured pelvis and arm, and later perished. Reports say the two brothers were in the same car, and both may have been drinking.

It was nearly the same offense committed two years apart, noted prosecutors.

In 2013, Benedict was sentenced to 90 days in jail, which he had served, and five years of probation, according to press reports. Christopher was arraigned this week on a “single count of felony leaving the scene of an accident,” reports the Daily News. His lawyer told the paper his client entered a not-guilty plea, and is being held on $100,000 cash bail or $300,000 bond. He is scheduled for another court appearance on April 19.

“They’re identical twins living under the same household who commit the very same crime,” Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota was quoted in media reports. “The odds are astronomical.”

Christopher works as a manager in a project management office.

What strange about this case, according to the Babylon Village Patch, is that Benedict pleaded guilty to his 2013 hit-and-run charge just10 days before Christopher got involved in the March 29 incident. Prosecutors believe the two were under the influence, but could not pin them down on an alleged alcohol-related crash because the twins fled the scene. No blood or breathalyzer tests were conducted because they did not report the offense.

Nearly 10,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2014, accounting to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The number represents almost one-third of all traffic-related deaths in the United States. More than 1.1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs, says the CDC.

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