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Steven Sharma, age 24, of New Hyde Park, was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison in Suffolk County Court on Thursday, April 27.
It followed his guilty plea to two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of 22-year-old Brandon Nazirbage, of Floral Park, in September 2021.
Emergency crews in East Farmingdale were called at around 3:40 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021 with reports that a BMW had struck a concrete median while exiting from westbound Route 109 to southbound Route 110, according to Suffolk County Police.
Investigators determined that Sharma failed to negotiate a turn and blew through a stop sign going nearly 80 miles per hour before slamming into the median head on. The posted speed limit is 20 miles per hour.
Nazirbage, who had been sitting in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sharma was airlifted to a hospital for treatment while three other passengers suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including one who underwent surgery for broken bones in their legs, police said.
At the time of the crash, the group was heading home after a night of drinking, Sharma later admitted
A blood sample that he provided while being treated at the hospital revealed his blood alcohol content to be .22 percent, according to prosecutors, nearly three times the legal limit to drive.
The blood sample also showed the presence of THC, the active component of marijuana.
“The defendant’s friends trusted him to get them home safely, but he did exactly the opposite,” Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
“The defendant’s actions amounted to a lethal cocktail of choices that altered many lives. He left a family without a son, brother, and loved one, and now he must bear the consequences of his criminal actions.”
On Oct. 26, 2022, Sharma pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide (felony)
- One count of second-degree manslaughter (felony)
- One count of second-degree assault (felony)
- Four counts of third-degree assault (misdemeanor)
- One count of driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs (misdemeanor)
- Aggravated driving while intoxicated (misdemeanor)
In addition to his prison sentence, a judge revoked Sharma’s driver’s license.
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