Woodhaven resident John Eberling was an avid reader and hiker. He was 76 years old when he was killed by a drunk driver in February.
The driver who pleaded guilty to driving drunk and killing a 76-year-old Woodhaven man, described by family as “the sweetest man you could ever know,” may face nowhere near the maximum 15 years he could have spent behind bars, according to published reports.
Viveshdyal Thakoordyal, 46, admitted he was liquored up when he struck, and killed, John Eberling, as the elderly man crossed Jamaica Avenue near 80th Street around 4:30 p.m. in late February, but the driver could reportedly receive just months in prison because of a plea deal. Thakoordyal, who was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, was scheduled to be sentenced last week, but the date has been pushed back to Nov. 26.
Thakoordyal was behind the wheel of a Nissan Pathfinder when the accident occurred – and when police got to the scene and administered a breathalyzer test, discovering the driver had been boozing.
Eberling, an avid reader and hiker, was a retired warehouse manager who was described in published reports by his niece, Diana Freeman, as “the sweetest man you could ever know.”
Freeman told reporters that her uncle had stepped in when her own father died and became like a surrogate father to her.
“He gave me away at my wedding,” she said.
Viveshdyal Thakoordyal, pictured here being given a breathalyzer test at the intersection where he struck John Eberling.Viveshdyal Thakoordyal, pictured here being given a breathalyzer test at the intersection where he struck John Eberling. File Photos
