Matthew Smith indicted on upgraded charge of aggravated vehicular homicide in alleged DWI crash that killed Nassau Officer Patricia Espinosa

The Hauppauge man accused of killing Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa in an alleged drunken-driving crash in January has been indicted on upgraded charges, including a top count of aggravated vehicular homicide, court records show.

Matthew Smith, 20, is scheduled to be arraigned on the 19-count indictment before State Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead on Friday. He is additionally charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and aggravated vehicular assault for the early morning Jan. 31 crash that also injured his passenger.

The aggravated vehicular homicide charge carries a maximum sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison under New York State law, if convicted at trial.

Suffolk prosecutors said Smith was driving his 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with more than twice the legal blood alcohol content in his body and speeding at 70 mph before he ran a red light and crashed into the officer’s car at 6 a.m. on Route 347 at Alexander Road in Lake Grove. His blood alcohol content was 0.20%, a prosecutor said at his arraignment on a DWI charge in Suffolk County District Court.

Smith’s attorney, Anthony La Pinta, of Hauppauge, could not be immediately reached for comment Monday evening. He told Newsday earlier in the day that his client, who remains in custody at the Suffolk County jail, was not expected to appear in court for a previously scheduled court conference Tuesday.

Prosecutors have said the crash came after a night of drinking and reckless driving, with Smith recorded driving as fast as 125 mph.

Espinosa, 42, a nine-year veteran, was on her way to work in Nassau's Fifth Precinct. Her husband, Francisco Malaga, also a Nassau police officer, came upon the crash and stopped to help, only to discover his wife was involved.

They are parents of a 2-year-old daughter, Mia.

Prosecutors said the crash overturned Espinosa’s car and that she was found hanging upside down by her seat belt. It took paramedics 30 minutes to free her and take her to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, court records show.

When police arrived, they found Smith with slurred speech and bloodshot eyes, prosecutors previously said. Witnesses described seeing an intoxicated Smith and his passenger outside the pickup, according to the bail application.

Smith’s passenger, John Andali, suffered spinal and pelvic fractures. He is said to have told detectives they were drinking early Saturday at the James Joyce Bar in Patchogue. They then went across the street to another bar and restaurant, Lindo Mexico, and planned to go to Jake's 58 casino in Islandia. Smith drove to Jake's 58, with Andali describing Smith as "driving crazy" and running several red lights, court papers show.

When they got to Jake's 58, it was closed and Smith began driving Andali home, which is where prosecutors believe he was headed at the time of the crash.

A search warrant served on Smith’s truck showed he was accelerating through the red light before crashing into Espinosa's car.

"Roughly one second prior to the impact, the defendant reached a top speed of 70 mph. This is in a 30-mph speed zone," Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Emma Richards said at Smith's arraignment Feb. 6. "During that same period of time, the service brake was off and, in the seconds leading up to the impact, the accelerator pedal was deployed at 99% full."

Surveillance video showed Smith leaving the second bar about 5:30 a.m. and stumbling through Jake’s 58 before he was turned away, and he left the casino at 5:49 a.m., according to prosecutors.

Andali posted a video to his Instagram page, about a half hour before the crash, showing Smith "driving erratically, speeding and weaving around traffic stopped at a red light," prosecutors said, on what was believed to be Patchogue-Holbrook Road in Holtsville.

Other videos show Smith driving between 5:40 and 5:47 a.m. Saturday, weaving through traffic and speeding past vehicles in the HOV and turning lanes, prosecutors said.

The pickup’s infotainment system also showed Smith was driving at a top speed of 125 mph between Patchogue and Jake’s 58.

Prosecutors said he was driving 117 mph after leaving Jake’s 58. After police searched the pickup, they found a bottle of Bacardi rum, a shot glass, rolling papers, a vape and a stun gun.

Newsday's John Asbury contributed to this story.