What Happened
Brian Mizhirumbay, 24, of Lindenhurst pleaded guilty on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, in Nassau County Court to killing Craig White, 55, in a high-speed drunk driving crash in Freeport, according to Newsday.
Newsday reports that the crash occurred on September 3, 2025, when Mizhirumbay drove drunk at high speed through several red lights in Freeport before slamming his vehicle into a car driven by White. White, described by Newsday as a beloved Nassau worker who had dedicated his life to helping people with developmental disabilities, died as a result of the collision.
Under the plea deal reached with prosecutors, Mizhirumbay admitted to four of the nine counts he had been charged with. Those four counts were: aggravated vehicular homicide (the top count in the indictment), second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, and aggravated driving while intoxicated. He did not enter a plea on the remaining five counts.
Mizhirumbay said nothing as he left the Nassau County Courthouse following his hearing. His attorney, Steven Gaitman, spoke briefly to reporters: “My client accepts responsibility and acknowledge his actions in this tragic case.” Mizhirumbay is scheduled to return to court on November 2, 2026, for sentencing, according to Newsday.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place in Freeport, a village on the South Shore of Nassau County. Freeport’s streets serve a dense mix of residential and commercial traffic, and intersections along its main corridors can be particularly hazardous at speed. Running multiple red lights through any populated village dramatically escalates the risk of catastrophic collision — exactly the sequence of events that claimed Craig White’s life on the night of September 3, 2025.
For more on DWI-related crashes on Long Island, Long Island Traffic maintains an ongoing archive of incidents throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Mizhirumbay had faced nine counts in total stemming from the September 3, 2025, crash. The plea deal negotiated between his attorney and Nassau County prosecutors resulted in his admitting guilt to four counts: aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, and aggravated driving while intoxicated. The aggravated vehicular homicide count represented the most serious charge in the indictment.
Sentencing is set for November 2, 2026, in Nassau County Court. The specific terms of the plea agreement — including any agreed-upon sentencing range — were not detailed in the Newsday report.
What This DWI Charge Means
New York’s Vehicle and Traffic Law §1192 establishes a tiered framework for impaired driving offenses. Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) applies when a driver’s ability is impaired by alcohol but their blood alcohol content (BAC) falls below 0.08%. A standard DWI charge kicks in at a BAC of 0.08% or higher. Aggravated DWI — the charge to which Mizhirumbay pleaded guilty — applies when a driver’s BAC reaches 0.18% or above, or in certain other aggravating circumstances. The aggravated DWI designation reflects a level of intoxication more than twice the legal limit and triggers significantly harsher penalties.
For a first-offense standard DWI in New York, penalties include fines up to $1,000, a mandatory minimum six-month license revocation, possible jail time up to one year, and a mandatory ignition interlock device upon license restoration. Aggravated DWI carries higher fines (up to $2,500 for a first offense), a one-year minimum revocation, and greater exposure to incarceration. When a DWI results in a fatality and the driver is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide — a class B felony — the potential prison sentence can reach 25 years. Drivers who refuse a chemical test in New York face an automatic one-year license revocation and a $500 civil penalty, independent of any criminal outcome.
Mizhirumbay’s guilty plea to aggravated vehicular homicide and second-degree manslaughter, in addition to the DWI-related counts, places him in the most serious tier of impaired-driving consequences under New York law. The sentencing on November 2 will determine how those counts are punished concurrently or consecutively.
Case Status & Updates
It is important to note that while Mizhirumbay has now entered a guilty plea, the legal process is not yet complete — sentencing has not occurred, and the court retains discretion within the bounds of any plea agreement. Long Island Traffic tracks DWI and vehicular homicide cases through Nassau and Suffolk county courts and updates each report with arraignment outcomes, pleas, and sentencing results as they become part of the public record.
For recent related incidents, see: Woman Arrested for DWI Following Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash (Aug. 5, 2026) and Man Arrested For DWI Following Three-Vehicle Crash in Lindenhurst (Jul. 14, 2026).
Broader Impact
Craig White’s death is a reminder of the human cost attached to impaired, high-speed driving through populated intersections. White had spent his career serving people with developmental disabilities in Nassau County — a loss that extends well beyond his family to the community he served. Aggravated vehicular homicide, the top count Mizhirumbay admitted to, carries the weight of a class B violent felony in New York precisely because the legislature has determined that this category of reckless, alcohol-fueled conduct demands the most serious criminal accountability available under the vehicle and traffic framework.