A 37-year-old New York man who is accused of being under the influence of drugs when he caused a fatal accident on the Long Island Expressway in March has been charged with vehicular homicide. The Suffolk County district attorney announced that the charges against the man had been upgraded on May 4. The man faces a total of 20 felony and misdemeanor counts including charges of manslaughter in the second degree, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, aggravated vehicular assault and driving while impaired by drugs.
According to police, the man was traveling in the westbound lanes of the Long Island Expressway near the William Floyd Parkway when his Ford pickup truck struck a Honda minivan. Officers say that the man was driving erratically at the time and had swerved off the roadway on at least two occasions before striking the minivan. Reports indicate that the man’s pickup truck then crossed over the center median and into the path of eastbound traffic where it struck a motorcycle and a Toyota minivan.
Rescue workers transported a critically injured woman who had been traveling in the Toyota to an East Patchogue trauma center, but she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The motorcyclist and the six other women traveling in the Toyota, who were visiting the United States from China, were also injured in the crash and to taken to area hospitals for treatment. The injuries suffered by the motorcyclist and two of the minivan passengers were described as serious.
Impaired drivers who cause catastrophic motor vehicle accidents are sometimes sent to prison for decades, but that does not mean that their victims are unable to seek compensation for their losses. When negligent drivers face long periods of incarceration and have few assets, experienced personal injury attorneys may pursue civil remedies by filing lawsuits against their car insurance companies.
Source: The Shirley Patch, “Man Indicted In LIE Crash That Killed 1, Left 7 Injured: DA”, Lisa Finn, May 4, 2018