A Uber driver accused of manslaughter after the fall of a Long Island teenager while he overfed on a car

LAUREN HOLLOW, Long Island (WABC) –

An Uber driver faces charges of manslaughter for the death of a Long Island teenager who fell on the sidewalk after prosecutors said he had been cleared to ride on the roof of the vehicle.

Ryan Mullen, 15, of Laurel Hollow, was traumatized by the brain and died a few hours after arriving at a friend's house after the trip.

The driver, 24-year-old Danyal Cheema, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and was brought to trial in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Monday morning.

He made no comment during the proceedings and was sentenced to $ 200,000. His license was also suspended.

"It was an incredibly bad decision on the part of the defendant, a bad decision of the boys involved, obviously," said Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini. "But in the end, this accused is an adult hired to bring these boys home safely, and he failed to do so."

The incident occurred just after midnight on September 23rd at Huntington Station.

Prosecutors said Mullen was with two other teenagers and that Cheema had accepted $ 40 to allow Mullen and another teenager to "ride a car" on the roof of his Toyota Highlander SUV.

Two of the passengers got on the roof, while the third recorded the incident on Snapchat. Mullen then fell off the vehicle and hit his head on the roadway.

Cheema drove the three teenagers to a residence in Huntington. Mullen, who had suffered a severe trauma to his head, succumbed to his injuries while asleep later in the day.

Mullen's family is outraged and demands answers. Why did Cheema let the boys try the waterfall and why did not he call 911 when Mullen fell?

"What if the driver was responsible enough to say no?" Dad Matthew Mullen said in an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News reporter NJ Burkett. "And he reacted differently and got medical care from our son?"

If he is found guilty, Cheema incurs a maximum penalty of five to fifteen years of imprisonment. Police say that he confessed on video.

"Unfortunately, the defendant has made an imprudent decision and has engaged in reckless driving resulting in the death of a young boy, and he will be held responsible," Sini said. "There is no doubt."

Uber issued the following statement: "The words can not describe how much we are troubled by this incident.Our thoughts are going to the runner's family during this difficult time.This driver has been permanently removed from the application. "

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