Tyshaun Johashen gets 6 to 18 years in crash that killed Mia Pollidore
A Freeport man who struck and killed a female pedestrian while driving drunk in March was sentenced Friday to six to 18 years in prison, according to the Nassau County district attorney.
Tyshaun Johashen, 32, was sentenced by Judge Robert Bogle during an emotional court appearance in Mineola as the mothers of the victim and defendant embraced and cried, District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.
"This defendant’s actions left two families heartbroken," Donnelly said in a statement.
Johashen pleaded guilty in August to aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges following the March 1 crash that killed Mia Pollidore, 24, of Freeport.
Johashen's defense attorney, Richard Langone of Garden City, said in an interview that his client's mother apologized to the victim's family in the courtroom and said she hopes they can find a way to forgive him one day.
"My client cried and said he was sorry," Langone added.
Donnelly said Johashen’s blood alcohol content of 0.24% — taken three hours after the crash — was at least three times the legal limit.
Pollidore was walking westbound across Babylon Turnpike in Freeport just after 7 p.m. on the night of the crash when Johashen struck her in his 2018 Nissan Sentra, according to the district attorney.
Pollidore suffered trauma to her head and legs and died at the scene.
Investigators later determined Johashen was driving at least 60 mph on a street with a posted speed limit of 30 mph, according to the district attorney.
“This prison sentence — and a lifetime of having to live with taking another person’s life — is the result of making the reckless choice to drink and get behind the wheel,” Donnelly said in a statement.
Johashen’s license had been suspended at the time due to a separate driving while intoxicated charge in Queens. Donnelly said that case remains pending.
Langone said his client was homeless at the time of the crash.
Joe Werkmeister covers the towns of Southampton, East Hampton and Shelter Island. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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