Family distraught as man accused of fatal DWI makes bail

A distraught father is begging for justice now that the man accused of driving drunk and killing his son in 2018 is out on bail.

News 12 Staff

Jan 11, 2020, 3:01 AM

Updated 1,576 days ago

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A distraught father is begging for justice now that the man accused of driving drunk and killing his son in 2018 is out on bail.
Police say Steve Warkenthien Jr., 23, was riding an ATV northbound on the Throgs Neck Expressway service road when Randy Sookoo struck him while making a left onto Wissman Avenue. Warkenthien spent about two weeks in the hospital before dying of his injuries.
Sookoo was arrested and charged with DWI and refusing to take a Breathalyzer test. The DA's office says bail was set at $50,000 cash for Sookoo and that he posted it.
The DA's office tells News 12 that Sookoo has two prior convictions for driving under the influence – one in 2005 and one in 2009.
Steve Warkenthien Sr. says losing his son has been so painful that he still cries every day. He says his son was his world and that he hasn't seen Sookoo in court because he can't bring himself to go. But when he does go to the final court date, he has a message for Sookoo.
"I would just like to tell him how he broke all of our hearts, and on that day he didn't just kill Steven, he killed everybody that loved him," says Warkenthien Sr.
Sookoo is scheduled to be back in court Feb. 11 for hearings and trial.
News 12 reached out to Sookoo's lawyer for statement.


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