Farmingville man indicted on vehicular homicide, manslaughter charges in fatal 3-car collision

A Farmingville man, who was allegedly impaired by fentanyl when he caused a three-car collision in March that killed a 22-year-old man and injured two others, has been indicted on a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced Monday.

Authorities said Christopher Guzman, 40, was also charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, two counts of second-degree vehicular assault, two counts of assault, reckless driving and driving while ability impaired by drugs in an indictment unsealed by state Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei.

Guzman was ordered held on $75,000 cash, $150,000 bond or $750,000 partially secured bond, officials said. Mazzei also suspended his driver's license.

Guzman's attorney could not be immediately reached for comment Monday. Guzman is due back in court June 21.

According to authorities, on March 19, Guzman was driving a 2022 Chevrolet Silverado west on Middle Country Road in Centereach when, at about 5 p.m., he crossed the double yellow centerline — and sideswiped an eastbound 2011 Toyota Camry.

That collision caused the 66-year-old female driver of the Camry to lose control and spin out. Guzman’s Silverado then crossed two additional eastbound lanes, colliding with a 2012 Ford Escape driven by a 55-year-old man identified by authorities as Stacy Carpenter.

Carpenter and his nephew, who was a front-seat passenger, both suffered serious injuries and were transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where Timothy Carpenter, 22, died, authorities said. Guzman and the Camry driver, identified as Virginia Molkentin, were transported to the same hospital and  treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

“Sadly, the defendant’s alleged use of fentanyl in this case forever changed the life of an innocent victim," Tierney said in a statement on Monday. "The tragic death of 22-year-old Timothy Carpenter is yet another sad reminder of the consequences of driving while impaired by drugs."

An earlier version of this story misidentified Stacy Carpenter’s relationship to Timothy Carpenter.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”