Famed jockey Angel Cordero Jr. bitterly lashed out yesterday at the Long Island motorist busted for allegedly running down Cordero’s wife and leaving her to die on a dark road.
“I’m glad they got him . . . I just hope he doesn’t get away with it,” the grieving horseman said. “You wouldn’t do that to a dog. How can you do it to a human being?”
Construction worker Robert Mikols, 61, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident after weeks of old-fashioned detective work led cops to his damaged car.
The Glen Cove man – who was arrested and arraigned yesterday and who faces four years in prison – claims he didn’t realize anyone was killed Jan. 22 in the alleged hit-run, and came forward as soon as he learned Marjorie Cordero had died.
“My heart goes out to her family,” he said through his lawyer, Joel Winograd. “This was a terrible tragedy. I’ve gone to church and prayed for Mrs. Cordero every week.”
But, Nassau County police said Mikols hid his black Mercury Cougar, surrendering it only after he became a suspect.
“He did not come forward until he knew we were looking at his car,” Detective Sgt. William Cocks said. “He must have spotted us, and then his lawyer called us.”
Marjorie Cordero, 41, a popular former jockey and trainer, was killed apparently while crossing a street after she left her Greenvale home to visit a friend, ignoring her family’s pleas to stay in because she was drunk.
A headlight casing and a small piece of the car’s body that were found at the scene told police they were looking for a black 1987 or 1988 Cougar.
Based on the damage, investigators said they believe the mother of three rolled over the hood of the car after it hit her at 35 mph – leaving “no doubt” Mikols knew he’d struck a person.