Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
Melissa Koprowski, 32, of Yaphank, pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter charges for causing a fatal crash that killed a 75-year-old woman and injured another driver in Middle Island last November, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The deadly collision occurred on November 22, 2024, at approximately 8:39 p.m. at the intersection of Middle Country Road and Wading River Hollow Road in Middle Island, prosecutors said. Koprowski was driving a 2014 Dodge Durango eastbound on Middle Country Road when she entered the intersection and attempted to make a left-hand turn in front of oncoming traffic without having the right of way, according to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during her guilty plea.
At the same time, a blue 2022 Nissan Rogue was traveling westbound on Middle Country Road proceeding through the intersection with a green light, prosecutors said. The Nissan was occupied by a driver, her two-year-old child, and her 75-year-old mother, Esther Guy, both seated in the backseat. Koprowski’s SUV crashed head-on into the Nissan Rogue within the westbound lane of the intersection, sending the Rogue off the road and into the wooded shoulder, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Suffolk County police and emergency responders immediately rendered aid to those involved in the collision, prosecutors said. All three occupants of the Nissan Rogue were transported via ambulance to Long Island Community Hospital, where the driver was treated for her injuries. Esther Guy was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival at the hospital, while the two-year-old child was uninjured, according to the DA’s office.
Koprowski was also transported to Long Island Community Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, prosecutors said. While at the hospital, officers observed that she displayed signs of intoxication and placed her under arrest. Subsequent toxicology testing revealed a blood alcohol concentration of .12% and a high level of THC, the active ingredient of marijuana, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“No family deserves to go through the pain and anguish of violently losing a family member, let alone in front of their eyes,” said District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney. “We hope that today’s conviction brings some measure of justice to the family of Esther Guy.”
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred at the intersection of Middle Country Road and Wading River Hollow Road in Middle Island, a busy corridor in central Suffolk County. Middle Country Road serves as a major east-west thoroughfare connecting multiple Long Island communities and carrying significant daily traffic volumes through residential and commercial areas.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
On October 1, 2025, Koprowski pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz to multiple charges contained in the indictment, according to prosecutors. The charges include Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Class C felony), Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (Class D felony), Assault in the Second Degree (Class D violent felony), Assault in the Third Degree (Class A misdemeanor), two counts of Driving While Intoxicated (unclassified misdemeanors), Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs (Class A misdemeanor), Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combination of Alcohol and a Drug (unclassified misdemeanor), and Reckless Driving (unclassified misdemeanor).
Koprowski faces 4 to 12 years in prison and is scheduled to return to court on November 17, 2025, prosecutors said. She is being represented by attorney John Halverson. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney MacDonald Drane of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Brian Whitehead of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Major Case Unit.