Brooklyn man guilty in fatal wrong-way crash

A driver so drunk he didn't realize he was on Long Island, or that he had killed someone by driving the wrong way on the Northern State Parkway, pleaded guilty Thursday.

Michael Bowen, 51, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter and several other crimes. He admitted killing Andre Menzies, 35, of North Babylon, a New York City police officer on his way home from work, shortly after midnight on Nov. 15, 2010.

In return for the plea, Suffolk County Court Judge James Hudson promised to sentence him to 6 1/3 to 19 years in prison.

Defense attorney Marvyn Kornberg, of Kew Gardens, praised Hudson for offering the plea deal in a case that presented prosecutors with difficult issues.

"There was some question about the people's ability to prove everything they had to prove," Kornberg said. "It's an unfortunate situation, for which my client is deeply sorry."

Assistant District Attorney Patricia Brosco said her office recommended the maximum sentence, 8 1/3 to 25 years.

During questioning by Brosco, Bowen said he got drunk on brandy at a friend's house in Brooklyn before getting into his Chevrolet Astro van.

Somehow, he ended up on the Northern State Parkway between exits 41 and 42 in Dix Hills. He said he made a U-turn in the eastbound lanes and came back west on the wrong side of the road. He acknowledged forcing other cars off the road, although he said he didn't recall doing it, before hitting Menzies.

A blood test showed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.26 percent, more than three times the legal limit. Bowen said he didn't recall the blood test, but Kornberg noted a state trooper testified in March that Bowen was "bombed out of his skull."

Sentencing will be June 18.