ADA: 'Drug cocktail' fueled fatal crash
Steven Kinalis was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in the Dec. 10 crash that killed John Gaffney, 5, of West Islip. Credit: James Carbone
A Ronkonkoma man, fueled by a "dangerous drug cocktail," was traveling so fast other cars shivered as he passed them moments before he slammed into the back of a pickup truck and fatally injured a 5-year-old boy riding with his family to buy a Christmas tree, a Suffolk prosecutor said Tuesday.
Steven Kinalis, 30, was under the influence of oxycodone and other medications when he plowed into the back of the dual cab pickup truck on Sunrise Highway, sending it crashing out of control into a tree, Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brosco said at Kinalis' arraignment in Riverhead.
He has been indicted on aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges in the Dec. 10 crash that killed John Gaffney of West Islip. If convicted, Kinalis faces a maximum of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.
John died the next day from head and neck injuries. His father, Kevin Gaffney, had a fractured shoulder and his mother, Teri, had several serious injuries, Brosco said. Their other children -- Emma, 7, and Ryan, 2 -- were not seriously hurt.
Kinalis' attorney, Steven Gaitman of Uniondale, entered a not guilty plea for him.
In the wreckage of Kinalis' car, Brosco said police found two bottles of 30-milligram oxycodone pills, filled with a prescription the day before. Already, 107 pills were gone, she said.
The day before that, she said Kinalis filled another prescription for 120 pills. They were gone, too, she said.
A search at Kinalis' home found Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug; Soma, a muscle relaxant; Adderall, an amphetamine; and more oxycodone. The pills were prescribed by three doctors and filled at five pharmacies, Brosco said.
She said a blood test showed Kinalis' blood contained oxycodone, a painkiller, and other medications. Any one drug alone could have impaired his driving, she said.
About 50 family members and friends of the Gaffneys attended the arraignment. Some cried quietly; no one commented.
Brosco asked Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson to set bail at $500,000 cash or $1 million bond. Gaitman asked for it to remain at $300,000 cash or $600,000 bond. Hudson set it at $400,000 cash or $750,000 bond.
Before Kinalis was led from the courtroom, Hudson asked Gaitman, "Does your client require medical attention [in the jail]?"
“No,” Gaitman replied.
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