What Happened
A Nassau County jury convicted Miguel Nolasco, 44, on October 27, 2026, in a high-speed drunken-driving crash in Hicksville that killed a 30-year-old man, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s office. The jury found him guilty of the following charges after a trial before Judge Robert Schwartz:
- Aggravated vehicular homicide, a B felony
- Manslaughter in the second degree, a C felony
- Assault in the second degree, a D violent felony
- Driving while intoxicated, an unclassified misdemeanor
The DA’s office said the trial began October 15 and the jury deliberated for three hours before reaching its verdict.
The crash. According to the DA’s office, the crash happened on September 21, 2024, at approximately 11:15 p.m.
- Nolasco was driving a 2005 Honda Odyssey westbound on West John Street towards Prospect Avenue in Hicksville at upwards of 100 miles per hour. The speed limit on West John Street is 40 miles per hour.
- The victim was traveling eastbound on Prospect Avenue and making a left-hand turn towards Cantiague Rock Road when Nolasco crashed into him.
- The victim’s vehicle became engulfed in flames. He was trapped inside and pronounced dead at the scene.
- Nolasco’s car continued to roll on its side and struck several trees before coming to a stop.
After the crash. The DA’s office said a blood draw taken approximately one hour after the crash showed Nolasco’s blood alcohol content was .21%. The Long Island Press reported that the legal limit for driving is 0.08%.
Nassau County police arrested Nolasco at the scene. He was taken to Nassau University Medical Center for treatment of a chest injury and abrasions, the DA’s office said.
DA Anne T. Donnelly said in a statement: “Miguel Nolasco was nearly three times the legal limit for alcohol when he decided to get behind the wheel, and as we’ve seen far too often, it led to horrific, deadly consequences.”
The case history. Nolasco, then 43, was arraigned on April 1, 2025, before Judge Schwartz on a grand jury indictment, according to the DA’s office. The indictment included:
- Aggravated vehicular homicide
- Manslaughter in the second degree
- Vehicular manslaughter in the first and second degrees
- Assault in the second degree
- Reckless driving
- Aggravated DWI per se
- DWI
At that time, the DA said Nolasco “allegedly admitted to drinking a dozen beers that night” before driving.
Earlier police accounts. In the days after the crash, the Bethpage Newsgram reported that police identified the driver as Miguel Nolasco, 42, of Roosevelt. The DA’s 2026 release describes him as a Hicksville man.
The Newsgram also reported these details from the initial police account:
- The victim was driving a 2014 Subaru.
- Nolasco was first charged with vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, manslaughter in the second degree and DWI.
- The initial account placed the Honda westbound on Prospect Avenue. The DA’s office, the official record, says the Honda was westbound on West John Street towards Prospect Avenue.
News 12 Long Island reported that a friend of the victim said, “He was a great father. He loved his children and his children loved him. This is something terrible.”
Nolasco is represented by an attorney, according to the DA’s office. Patch reported in April 2025 that his attorney did not immediately return its request for comment.
On This Corridor
Federal FARS fatal-crash records from 2010 through 2024 place 42 fatal crashes, in which 46 people died, within Hicksville’s 2020 Census boundaries. Those figures include preliminary 2024 data. One of those fatal crashes was on or at West John Street, in 2015, according to the same records. Long Island Traffic compiled these counts by placing each crash in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System into Census boundaries using FARS’s reported coordinates. The figures are counts only and say nothing about the cause of this crash.
What Officials Have Said Next
The DA’s office said Nolasco is due back in court for sentencing on December 16, 2026. He faces up to 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison.
What we don’t know yet: what sentence Judge Schwartz will impose, and the DA’s releases have not identified the make and model of the victim’s vehicle.
Sources
- Nassau County District Attorney (official record)
- Nassau County District Attorney (official record)
- Patch
- Long Island Press
- Bethpage Newsgram
- News 12