DA: Tyshaun Johashen of Freeport pleads guilty in fatal drunken driving crash

A Freeport man who allegedly struck and killed a female pedestrian while driving drunk in March pleaded guilty on Monday to aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

Tyshaun Johashen, 32, is scheduled to return for sentencing before Nassau County Judge Robert Bogle on Oct. 12. Donnelly said her office is recommending a sentence of 7 to 21 years in prison. Prosecutors said Johashen’s driver’s license was suspended before the crash because of a pending driving while intoxicated charge in Queens.

His blood alcohol content was 0.24, three times the legal limit, more than three hours after the crash, prosecutors said.

The victim, Mia Pollidore, 24, of Freeport was walking west across Babylon Turnpike near the intersection of Carroll Street in Freeport just after 7 p.m. when Johashen, “highly intoxicated” as he drove south on the turnpike in a 2018 Nissan Sentra, struck her, Donnelly said.

“He pleaded guilty because of remorse and sorrow,” said Johashen’s attorney, Richard Langone of Garden City. “He hopes this helps the [victim’s] family find closure and maybe at some point find a place in their hearts to forgive him.”

Langone said Johashen hopes to use his time in prison to get treatment for substance abuse and other mental health issues.

“Mia Pollidore was simply crossing the street at 7 p.m. on her way to a deli when this defendant, speeding and at least three times the legal limit for alcohol, smashed his car into the 24-year-old woman,” Donnelly said.