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Jhonny Chavarria-Argueta, of Bay Shore, was sentenced to four to 12 years behind bars in Suffolk County Court on Thursday, June 1.
It followed his guilty plea to manslaughter and other charges in the death of 19-year-old Jessica Gonzalez, of Commack, in September 2022.
According to the Suffolk County DA’s office, Chavarria-Argueta was intoxicated when he got behind the wheel of a rented Hyundai Santa Fe in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, 2022.
At around 4:20 a.m., while driving “at an extremely high rate of speed” eastbound on the Southern State Parkway near the Robert Moses Causeway, he lost control and struck a median guardrail, prosecutors said.
The impact sent the vehicle rolling several times before it finally came to a stop on its front end against the causeway overpass.
Gonzalez, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, was ejected from the vehicle and died from her injuries.
Instead of rendering aid, prosecutors said Chavarria-Argueta climbed out of the car and fled the scene on foot.
Investigators later obtained a search warrant to retrieve the vehicle's black box, which showed he had been driving 120 miles per hour moments before the crash.
“The defendant’s complete and utter carelessness cost Jessica Gonzalez her life,” Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
“There may have been a chance for the victim’s survival if the defendant didn’t think about himself following the crash and, instead, rendered aid to Jessica,” he continued.
“While justice is no substitute for a human life, this prison sentence will hold the defendant responsible for his actions.”
On April 20, Chavarria-Argueta pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Second-degree manslaughter (felony)
- Second-degree vehicular manslaughter (felony)
- Leaving the scene of an incident without reporting (felony)
- Driving while intoxicated (misdemeanor)
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