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John Cappello, age 31, of Massapequa, pleaded guilty Wednesday, April 27, to multiple charges that include aggravated vehicular assault and manslaughter, Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly said.
Cappello was “highly intoxicated - nearly three times the legal limit” on September 22, 2020, when he drove into oncoming traffic near Stewart and Linden avenues and crashed head-on into another car, Donnelly said.
The driver of the second vehicle, 74-year-old Manuela Brugueras, later died at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Bethpage.
“A devastating scene of twisted metal was left in the wake of this fatal head-on collision that took a woman’s life,” Donnelly said.
The force of the crash was so severe that crews had to extricate Cappello from his vehicle, police said.
Inside his car officers found hypodermic needles and an open pint-sized bottle of vodka, police said.
Cappello is scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, July 6. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
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