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Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
An 18-year-old man of Moriches was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison on Wednesday for a fatal drunk driving crash that killed a teenage passenger of East Hampton and seriously injured another passenger on Old Stone Highway in East Hampton on Father’s Day 2025. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the sentencing, which followed the defendant’s guilty plea in February to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and multiple related charges.
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, the deadly crash occurred on Sunday, June 15, 2025, after the defendant drove a group of seven teenagers in his 2009 Toyota Camry to a local beach in East Hampton. Prosecutors say the group, whose ages ranged from 15 to 19 years old, consumed alcohol at the beach before leaving together in the same vehicle. Six passengers, including a 15-year-old, were all crammed into the back seat of the Toyota Camry when the defendant began driving them away from the beach.
At approximately 7:39 p.m., as the defendant drove the Camry southbound on Old Stone Highway, he approached a curve in the road at a high rate of speed, according to the District Attorney’s office. An analysis of the event data recorder from the car revealed that seconds before the crash, the defendant was driving 74 mph in a 30-mph posted zone — nearly two and a half times the speed limit. As he navigated the curve, the defendant drove into the opposite lane where he nearly struck an oncoming vehicle before losing control completely.
The driver then drove off the roadway and crashed into a tree, prosecutors say, causing the vehicle to roll onto its passenger side. The impact killed the teenage passenger, who was sitting in the back seat among the six passengers. The remaining passengers were transported to local hospitals for medical treatment, with one rear passenger suffering a spinal fracture and severe lacerations to her hand that resulted in significant disfigurement, according to court documents.
Responding police officers observed that the defendant was exhibiting signs of intoxication and placed him under arrest at the scene. The defendant consented to a chemical test of his blood, which revealed that he had a .08% blood alcohol concentration — exactly at the legal limit for intoxication in New York State. The combination of excessive speed and alcohol impairment proved deadly for the group of young people who had been celebrating Father’s Day together.
“As this case clearly illustrates, drunk drivers are a danger to our communities,” District Attorney Tierney said in announcing the sentence. “A young woman lost her life because of the selfish actions of the defendant. I hope that this prison sentence brings some small degree of solace to the victim’s family who are undoubtedly still grieving this senseless loss.”
Location & Road Context
The fatal crash occurred on Old Stone Highway in East Hampton, a roadway that runs through the eastern portion of Long Island in Suffolk County. The specific location where the defendant lost control was at a curve in the road while traveling southbound, an area where the posted speed limit is 30 mph — significantly lower than the 74 mph the defendant was traveling according to the vehicle’s event data recorder.
Old Stone Highway serves as a connector road in the East Hampton area, linking various residential and recreational areas. The road’s lower speed limit and curved sections require careful attention from drivers, particularly during summer months when beach traffic increases substantially in the Hamptons region.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Coleman of the East Hampton Town Police Department, working in coordination with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Vehicular Crime Bureau. On February 11, 2026, the defendant appeared before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski and pleaded guilty to an extensive list of charges stemming from the deadly crash.
The charges included one count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B felony; one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony; one count of Aggravated Vehicular Assault, a Class C felony; one count of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class D felony; two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies; one count of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, a Class D felony; two counts of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, Class E felonies; one Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child, a Class E felony; two counts of Driving While Intoxicated, Unclassified misdemeanors; three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, Class A misdemeanors; one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor; one count of Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor; one count of Reckless Driving, an Unclassified Misdemeanor; and one count of Speeding, an infraction.
Justice Pilewski sentenced the defendant to four to 12 years in prison on March 18, 2026. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bopp of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.
Broader Impact
The presence of a 15-year-old passenger in the vehicle resulted in additional charges of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, reflecting New York State’s enhanced penalties when minors are endangered by impaired driving. The event data recorder evidence, which showed the defendant was traveling 74 mph in a 30-mph zone, demonstrates how modern vehicle technology increasingly provides crucial forensic evidence in serious traffic crashes, helping prosecutors build stronger cases against reckless drivers.