DA: Driver sentenced in fatal drunken hit-run in Baldwin

A West Hempstead man was sentenced Friday to 5 to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to a drunken hit-and-run crash last year that killed a Baldwin man.  

Acting Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Meryl Berkowitz sentenced Roy Gomez, 39, in the death of Jovanni Bien-Amie of Baldwin in the March 13 crash on Grand Avenue in Baldwin.

Gomez pleaded guilty in October to aggravated vehicular homicide, felony leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death, two counts of third-degree misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor aggravated DWI. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 7 to 21 years in prison.

Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas said that Gomez was driving his 2004 Chevy TrailBlazer “while highly intoxicated” when he crashed about 10:15 p.m. into the back of a Nissan Altima stopped at a red light.

Bien-Amie was riding in the car with his parents Jacques Bien-Aime and Kettelye Plantin, who also were injured.

“The Bien-Amie family was simply driving home after getting dinner together,” Singas said in a statement. “It is unthinkable that in a split second the selfish, drunk and criminal driving of the defendant stole the life of an innocent 21-year-old man, injured his parents and imposed a life sentence on the shattered Bien-Amie family. Our thoughts and sympathy are with them.”  

Gomez's attorney could not be reached for comment Saturday. 

The crash pushed the back of the Altima into the front seats of the car and trapped the family inside as it spun down Grand Avenue, prosecutors said. Jovanni Bien-Amie died the next day from his injuries.

Prosecutors said Gomez sped away and abandoned the SUV in a parking lot, before running to hide in a charter boat in Freeport, about three miles from the crash. Police found him sleeping in the boat on Woodcleft Avenue, where he was arrested.

A grand jury indicted him on a dozen charges in April, including vehicular homicide.

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.