Wilber Arevalo Argueta, of Central Islip, charged with DWI in crash that killed Gino Vargas, of Farmingdale, police say

By Maureen Mullarkeymaureen.mullarkey@newsday.comUpdated December 20, 2025

A Central Islip man was charged with driving while intoxicated after he crashed his truck into a Kia leaving a parking lot in Bethpage on Thursday, police said.

The driver of the Kia, Gino Vargas, of Farmingdale, died of his injuries Friday, Nassau County police said in a news release.

Around 7:40 a.m. Thursday, Wilber Arevalo Argueta, 36, was driving a 2024 Isuzu box truck south on Hicksville Road near the intersection of Brenner Avenue when he struck the 2023 Kia that was exiting a parking lot onto Hicksville Road.

Police arrested Arevalo Argueta and charged him with driving while intoxicated.

Vargas, 38, was taken to a hospital with critical injuries, including collapsed lungs and a broken pelvis, but later died, police said Friday.

Arevalo Argueta and his 38-year-old passenger were not injured.

Arevalo Argueta will be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on Tuesday.

An investigation is ongoing.

More coverage: Every 7 minutes on average a traffic crash causing death, injury or significant property damage happens on Long Island. A Newsday investigation found that traffic crashes killed more than 2,100 people between 2014 and 2023 and seriously injured more than 16,000 people. To search for fatal crashes in your area, click here.

By Maureen Mullarkey

maureen.mullarkey@newsday.com

Maureen Mullarkey is a breaking news reporter at Newsday. She previously worked as a reporter for Patch, where she covered a range of Long Island stories on topics such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy and the Babylon School District abuse scandals.

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