Matthew Smith, 21, got between seven years, four months and 22 years in prison, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said. Smith’s sentence was negotiated as part of a plea deal in June.
Smith, of Hauppauge, was driving 70 mph in a 30 mph zone when he sped through a red light and slammed into a vehicle driven by Patricia Espinosa around 6 a.m. on Jan. 31, according to authorities.
Espinosa, a 42-year-old Nassau County Police Officer, was on her way to work at the time, officials said. Meanwhile, Smith was drunk after a night at Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel, according to police.
“He was intoxicated, speeding, and lawless behind the wheel of a 5,000-pound pickup truck, and a police officer on her way to serve her community paid with her life,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said.
About 40 minutes after the crash, Smith’s BAC was measured at 0.20, prosecutors said. Cops also found a bottle of Bacardi and a shot glass in his wrecked Chevrolet Silverado, investigators said.
Smith pleaded guilty Thursday, June 11 to more than a dozen charges, including two top counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, the district attorney’s office said. He also had to give up the Silverado.
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