Privacy update — September 18, 2026: Identifying details have been removed under our victim privacy policy.
What Happened
A 24-year-old Lindenhurst driver pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree manslaughter and five related charges after driving approximately 121 mph westbound on the Southern State Parkway in North Babylon, rear-ending another vehicle, and killing the 49-year-old West Babylon driver at the scene on Sept. 22, 2024, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The crash happened at approximately 10:30 p.m. The defendant was behind the wheel of a 2014 Honda Civic. The victim was driving a 2009 Honda CR-V with four passengers aboard.
According to court records and the defendant’s own admissions during the guilty plea, the defendant was speeding, cutting off other motorists, and weaving between lanes before slamming into the rear of the CR-V. The force of the collision sent both vehicles off the roadway. The victim’s CR-V went into the woods along the right shoulder. The defendant’s Civic struck the median barrier first, then also careened into the woods. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Data pulled from the Civic’s Event Data Recorder confirmed the 121 mph figure, prosecutors said. The defendant also admitted to that speed during the plea proceeding. Shore News Network reported that prosecutors said the defendant had used a cellphone to record reckless driving in the same manner in the period before impact. The DA’s office did not confirm whether the recording was still running at the moment of the collision.
One passenger in the victim’s CR-V suffered fractures to the vertebrae and pelvis and required treatment at a rehabilitation facility. Three other occupants were taken to local hospitals with injuries, according to prosecutors.
The defendant appeared before an Acting Supreme Court Justice and entered guilty pleas to six counts: one count of second-degree manslaughter, a Class C felony; one count of second-degree assault, a Class D felony; three counts of third-degree assault; and one count of reckless driving. The case was prosecuted by the Vehicular Crime Bureau of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. The New York State Police investigated.
“This defendant’s egregious actions killed another innocent driver,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement. “Vehicles become lethal weapons in the hands of those who treat them like toys.”
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 23, 2026.
Location & Road Context
The westbound lanes of the Southern State Parkway in North Babylon were the scene of the Sept. 22, 2024, collision. The parkway runs east-west across the south shore of Suffolk and Nassau counties and carries heavy commuter and recreational traffic. According to Long Island Traffic’s incident registry, the corridor has recorded 225 incidents so far in 2026, with 61 in the past 30 days alone. The most recent prior fatal crash on the Southern State Parkway in the registry was logged Aug. 7, 2026.
Two additional crashes on the Southern State Parkway were recorded on Sept. 5 and Sept. 4, both classified as minor.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The case was investigated by the New York State Police and prosecuted by the Suffolk County DA’s Vehicular Crime Bureau. Nearly two years elapsed between the September 2024 crash and Thursday’s guilty plea.
The defendant faces four to 12 years in state prison and returns to court Oct. 23, 2026, for sentencing on the second-degree manslaughter conviction and the five accompanying counts.