Corrilyn Meyer, of Riverhead, sentenced to  jail for leaving scene of crash that killed Dean Arnum, of Middle Island

A Suffolk judge told a Riverhead nurse and U.S. Army veteran that her failure to turn herself in after leaving the scene of a fatal crash is “not forgivable” as he sentenced her to 90 days in jail Tuesday.

Corrilyn Meyer, 30, was sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice John Collins after pleading guilty in January to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death for the Dec. 30, 2022, crash that claimed the life of Middle Island resident Dean Arnum.

A salesperson at Apple Honda in Riverhead, Arnum, 23, was struck crossing the street in front of the Route 58 business as he was leaving work at 6 p.m. He was first hit by a pickup truck and then by a Subaru Forester driven by Meyer, Riverhead Town police said following her arrest six days after she drove away.

“This whole matter is a terrible tragedy, in particular it's a tragedy that was compounded by the defendant’s unfathomable actions after what I truly believe would have been an accident,” Collins told the crowded courtroom, filled with family and friends of Arnum. “Miss Meyer, you're trained as a nurse, you were in the military. … You of all people should, both by your training and your life experience, know what this loss means to Dean’s family.”

“Shame on you,” the judge told Meyer twice.

The driver of the pickup truck stayed at the scene of the crash and did not face criminal charges.

Meyer, who was represented by attorney Edward Burke Jr. of Sag Harbor, told the court she did not know “the true events of what happened” the night she struck Arnum.

Collins said Arnum was dressed in all black as he crossed the busy road that dark Friday evening, but he noted that Meyer learned of his death the following day and still did not speak with police until they stopped her vehicle five days later.

Collins said prosecutors would have had difficulty, however, proving at trial that the “second strike” caused Arnum’s death. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner was unable to attribute the death to either vehicle, the judge said in explaining the agreed upon disposition, which includes five years’ probation.

“Sometimes the law is just inadequate to deal with that which is presented,” Collins said.

Ruth Arnum spoke of her son’s moral character and empathetic nature at sentencing. She wore a Yankees jersey in honor of her son, a lifelong fan of the team and an infielder on the 2017 Shoreham-Wading River county champion baseball team. Many of Arnum's former teammates attended the sentencing.

“He just was somebody who loved people,” Arnum said of her son following the sentencing. “Nothing will ever take our pain away and we'll never be the same family that we were, but we'll stick together and we'll try our best.”

Meyer apologized to the Arnum family before being taken away in handcuffs.

“I’d like you to know that every day that goes by, I am overwhelmed with grief and remorse for what has transpired,” Meyer told the family.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.