Teen, allegedly served liquor by father before causing fatal crash, indicted on vehicular homicide charges, prosecutors say

A Bay Shore teen and his father were indicted by a grand jury after prosecutors said the father served liquor to his son, who then drove and caused a fatal crash in Massapequa.

Prosecutors said Brian August, 19, was driving with a blood alcohol content of at least 0.20%, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08%, when he crashed his father’s Bentley SUV on Sunrise Highway, killing another driver, Willie Singleton, 48, of Bay Shore.

Prosecutors said Brian Kitchen, 42, served his son liquor before the crash. August is accused of taking multiple shots of vodka in the SUV prior to the crash. Police found a 1.75 ml bottle of vodka and multiple empty 50 ml bottles of vodka in the Bentley.

August was arrested after the April crash and initially charged with manslaughter. He was indicted on a 13-count indictment on upgraded charges including two counts of vehicular homicide.

"Brian August was allegedly in the driver’s seat of his father’s Bentley tossing back multiple shots of vodka in the hours before he drove onto Sunrise Highway, crashed into Willie Singleton’s Slingshot, and ended the man’s life," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. "Some of those shots, unbelievably, were allegedly poured and served to him by his own father. Now, Willie’s wife, also seriously injured in the crash, is forced to recover from this horrific and senseless act without the support of the man she loved."

Kitchen was charged with felony reckless endangerment and misdemeanor reckless endangerment.

Both August and Kitchen pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Wednesday in Nassau County Court. A judge ordered August held on $500,000 cash bail or $1.25 million bond. Kitchen was released on his own recognizance.

An attorney for August and Kitchen did not return messages Thursday.

Prosecutors said August was stopped at a red light while heading east on Sunrise Highway, at about 9 p.m. April 19, when he turned across the eastbound lanes at Unqua Road and crashed into Singleton’s three-wheel Polaris Slingshot.

Singleton was ejected from the vehicle into another car at the red light and died about 45 minutes later. His wife was seriously injured and underwent emergency surgery to have a metal rod placed in her leg, prosecutors said.

August and Kitchen are both scheduled to return to court Dec. 2. If convicted, August faces between 8 and 25 years in prison. Kitchen faces between 2 to 7 years in prison if convicted.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.