Cops: In fatal Syosset crash, DWI suspect may have been racing

A Bronx man suspected of drunken driving in a fatal Syosset crash may have been drag racing his landscaping dump truck just before the collision, Nassau police said Monday.

Nassau Police said Everardo Nieto, 32, of Clay Avenue in the Bronx, was driving the landscaping dump truck west on Jericho Turnpike just before 5 p.m. Sunday when he ran head-on into a 2010 Mercedes-Benz between Robbins Lane and Underhill Boulevard.

Myron Jacobs, 86, of Jericho, a passenger in the Mercedes, was pronounced dead at Syosset Hospital at 5:18 p.m. Sunday, police said. His wife, Lucille Jacobs, 84, was in critical condition Monday at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

A 63-year-old man in the 2000 Ford truck with Nieto was also in serious condition Monday at the medical center. Police Monday would not identify any of the people injured in the accident other than Nieto, who was treated for minor injuries.

Nieto is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in First District Court in Hempstead on several charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and vehicular assault.

The results of a blood test on Nieto were pending, said Nassau Police Det. Lt. Kevin Smith.

Just before the accident, a witness saw Nieto's truck about three-fourths of a mile away from the eventual accident scene, stopped at a red light on Jericho Turnpike at Merry Lane, next to another truck, Smith said Monday. When the traffic light turned green, the two trucks took off at "a high rate of speed," Smith said. That account raised the possibility that Nieto's truck was racing the other.

Police were looking to speak to the driver of the second truck, who did not stop after the crash, Smith said.

The truck that Nieto was operating is owned by Innovative Design Landscaping, of Syosset. Monday, a spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter or on Nieto's status with the company.

Records show Nieto was fined $300 and his driver's license suspended for 90 days after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol following his arrest in Queens in July 2009.

Smith said the license suspension had passed and Nieto was driving with a valid license.

Sunday's collision demolished the Mercedes' front end. The landscaping truck tipped over and debris littered the road. Three hours after the crash, Jericho Turnpike remained closed in both directions - and both vehicles were still in the roadway, illuminated by floodlights while police investigated.

With John Valenti