Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A Brooklyn attorney has been indicted on 12 counts — including Aggravated Vehicular Homicide — in connection with a fatal drunk-and-drugged driving crash on the Long Island Expressway that killed a 21-year-old Ronkonkoma man and left a second motorist with severe injuries, according to a press release from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced on February 10, 2016, that Raj Jadeja, 35, of Brooklyn, was arraigned before Acting Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan on a 12-count grand jury indictment stemming from a crash that occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2015. Prosecutors allege that Jadeja was operating his grey 2012 BMW on the Long Island Expressway while under the combined influence of both alcohol and drugs when he caused the fatal collision.
According to the Nassau County DA, the sequence of events that night began when Paul Castiglione was driving his Mazda eastbound on the LIE. His vehicle collided with another car in the vicinity of the entrance ramp at Exit 46 (Sunnyside Boulevard). Castiglione’s Mazda then struck the center median concrete barrier and slid along it before coming to rest. Castiglione exited his vehicle — a fateful decision, as he would soon be in the direct path of Jadeja’s oncoming BMW.
Shortly after Castiglione’s Mazda came to a stop, Jadeja allegedly slammed his grey 2012 BMW into the back of a blue BMW being driven by 21-year-old George Ragotte of Ronkonkoma. The force of the impact was catastrophic: prosecutors say the rear driver’s side bumper of Ragotte’s blue BMW was pushed entirely into the back of the driver’s seat. DA Singas described the collision bluntly: “This defendant is charged with driving under the influence of both alcohol and drugs on the Long Island Expressway and slamming into another car with enough force to push the car’s bumper into the back of the driver’s seat.” In the same impact, Jadeja’s BMW also struck Castiglione, who was standing outside his disabled Mazda on the roadway.
Ragotte had to be extricated from the wreckage of his vehicle. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center, where he was treated for head trauma. He was later pronounced deceased. “21-year-old George Ragotte was in that car and he was killed in this terribly violent and completely preventable crash,” DA Singas said in announcing the indictment. Castiglione survived but sustained grievous injuries, including a broken tibia, broken fibula, broken ankle, broken jaw, sprained shoulder, and lacerations. Jadeja was arrested at the scene by members of the Nassau County Police Department.
The 12-count indictment filed against Jadeja includes the following charges, as detailed by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office:
- Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (B felony)
- Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree (C felony)
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the 2nd Degree (D felony)
- Two counts of Assault in the 2nd Degree (D violent felony)
- Vehicular Assault in the 2nd Degree (E felony)
- Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree (A misdemeanor)
- Two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle while Under the Influence of Alcohol (unclassified misdemeanors)
- Operating a Motor Vehicle while Impaired by Drugs (unclassified misdemeanor)
- Operating a Motor Vehicle while Impaired by Combined Use of Drugs or Alcohol and any Drug or Drugs (unclassified misdemeanor)
- Reckless Driving (unclassified misdemeanor)
If convicted on the top charge — Aggravated Vehicular Homicide — Jadeja faces a maximum sentence of 8⅓ to 25 years in prison. He is represented by attorney Steven Epstein, Esq.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on the Long Island Expressway (I-495) eastbound, near the entrance ramp at Exit 46 (Sunnyside Boulevard) in Nassau County. The LIE is one of the most heavily traveled corridors on Long Island and is a consistent site of serious and fatal crashes — our local incident database currently contains 419 recorded accidents in Nassau County alone. The stretch near Exit 46 feeds traffic from several surface roads and on-ramps, creating complex merge conditions that are particularly hazardous when impaired drivers are involved, especially in the early morning hours when this crash took place.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Jadeja was arraigned on February 10, 2016, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan in Nassau County. His bail was continued at $500,000 bond or $275,000 cash. He was ordered due back in court on March 23, 2016. At his original criminal arraignment back in September 2015, following his arrest by Nassau County Police, Jadeja had already been ordered to surrender his passport and had his driver’s license suspended pending the outcome of the case.
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant District Attorney Michael Bushwack, Deputy Bureau Chief of DA Singas’ Vehicular Crimes Bureau, alongside Assistant District Attorney Christopher Casa, according to the Nassau County DA’s announcement. The charges in the indictment are accusations, and Jadeja is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty.
Broader Impact
Under New York State law, a conviction on Aggravated Vehicular Homicide — the top count in this indictment — carries a maximum sentence of 8⅓ to 25 years in state prison, reflecting the legislature’s intent to treat alcohol-and-drug-impaired driving that results in death as among the most serious vehicular offenses in the penal code. The Nassau County DA’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, which is prosecuting this case, was established specifically to pursue cases like this one — crashes that are, as DA Singas put it, “completely preventable.” Readers involved in or affected by DWI-related incidents on Long Island can find more information at our accidents page and review their options on our know your rights section.