Sentencing for Far Rockaway man whose drunken-driving crash in Rockville Centre killed his cousin

A Far Rockaway man’s evening of drinking, ending in a single-car crash that took his cousin’s life, landed him up to a decade-long prison sentence on Wednesday.

Samuel Gutierrez Orozco, 25, pleaded guilty in December to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving and other charges after killing Larry Josue Orozco Torrez instantly when his 2006 Mini Cooper jumped the median strip on Peninsula Boulevard in Rockville Centre, crossing into oncoming traffic and then slammed into a tree.

Orozco, who worked as a pastry chef, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.12, well above the legal limit to drive, Nassau County prosecutor Alexandra Russell said ahead of the sentencing. Marijuana and cocaine were also found in his blood, she said.

“[Orozco] must still be held accountable because his behavior not only killed his cousin, but also endangered others," she said.

Orozco’s family, through his attorney, had asked Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy for a no-jail sentence.

"They don’t believe that an incarceratory sentence will do anything but cause the family more pain," defense attorney Robert Shalk told the judge.

Orozco, a native of Nicaragua speaking through an interpreter, said he deeply regretted what he had done and begged for a second chance.

"The same way that the Lord created the heavens and earth, he gave me another opportunity in this world because I was fighting for my life in the hospital," he said through tears. "I ask you Honor to give me another opportunity. I was selfish, I just wanted to get home, but we couldn’t make it."

He described Torrez as more than his cousin.

"He was my younger brother. We lived together. We shared everything. I will live with that for the rest of my life," he said.

The judge, who sentenced him to four to 10 years in prison, said that he would be getting a second chance, but perhaps not the kind Orozco wanted.

"There are opportunities in prison to work and make each day a productive day, a day in which you can rest your head and tell Larry, ‘I had a good day for you,’ meaning for Larry, and you can tell him that you are going to work even harder the next day for Larry,’ Murphy told Orozco. "Or you can let your circumstance destroy you each day ... that can tear your soul to pieces, but Larry wouldn’t want that."