Queens man sentenced for Manhasset crash that seriously injured four

A Queens man was sentenced Wednesday to six to 12 years in prison for driving drunk, speeding and crashing head-on into another car, seriously injuring four people inside. 

Jesus Lugo Santana, 51, of Bayside, pleaded guilty in April to two counts of aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault and felony driving while intoxicated.

Prosecutors said his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.27 about 90 minutes after his arrest following a March 20, 2020, crash on Northern Boulevard in Manhasset.

District attorney officials said Santana was driving a black Nissan Murano near Schenk Avenue at 71 mph in a 40 mph zone the night of the crash shortly before 8:30 p.m.

Santana crossed the double-yellow line and crashed into a white Hyundai Sonata injuring the driver and three passengers heading east, prosecutors said.

Emergency crews had to cut Santana free from his car where they found a nearly empty bottle of rum, prosecutors said. He was arrested at the scene and taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola.

The four people in the Hyundai were taken by ambulance to Northwell Health Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park where they underwent surgery for several injuries, including spinal, neck, shoulder and leg injuries and several broken bones, according to prosecutors. They underwent physical therapy and one passenger remains in a wheelchair.

“This defendant was speeding and highly intoxicated when he slammed head-on into oncoming traffic, seriously injuring four victims,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. “The victims’ injuries were so severe that they required extensive physical therapy, surgeries, and one victim remains in a wheelchair to this day. They are lucky to be alive. Santana disregarded the lives of motorists sharing the road with him that night and that decision has cost him his freedom.”

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.