Jhonny Chavarria-Argueta of Bay Shore sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison in crash that killed Jessica Gonzalez of Commack
A Bay Shore man was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison after admitting drinking several types of alcohol and driving up to 120 mph the night of a fatal crash he fled on Southern State Parkway last September.
Jhonny Chavarria-Argueta, 21, pleaded guilty before Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in April to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and driving while intoxicated.
The Sept. 18 crash claimed the life of 19-year-old Jessica Gonzalez of Commack, a passenger and acquaintance.
“The defendant’s complete and utter carelessness cost Jessica Gonzalez her life,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “There may have been a chance for the victim’s survival if the defendant didn’t think about himself following the crash and, instead, rendered aid to Jessica. While justice is no substitute for a human life, this prison sentence will hold the defendant responsible for his actions.”
Chavarria-Argueta admitted at his April 20 change of plea hearing that he drank beer and alcohol-infused tea and seltzer the night of the crash. Witnesses also observed him drinking alcohol before driving the car, prosecutors said.
Police had said Chavarria-Argueta was driving a rented 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe east on the Southern State Parkway at “an extremely high rate of speed” near Exit 40 at 4:20 a.m. on Sept. 18, when he lost control and struck a median guardrail. The vehicle flipped “multiple times,” ejecting Gonzalez from the front passenger seat.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said that following the crash Chavarria-Argueta “climbed out of the vehicle,” which came to a rest with its nose against the Robert Moses Causeway overpass, and fled on foot. Vehicle data showed he was driving 120 mph within seconds of the crash, prosecutors said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Raymond Varuolo of the Vehicular Crime Bureau with assistance from New York State Police Investigator Scott Kuntz.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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