Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Jeffrey Edsall, 52, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Assault and other related charges, for stealing a car, driving it while under the influence of alcohol, and causing a four-car collision in North Patchogue that left a 73-year-old woman with serious physical injuries.
“This defendant was not only operating a stolen car, but he was doing so while under the influence of alcohol,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Motorists and their passengers have the right to drive the streets of Suffolk County without having to fear that they are going to be struck by a reckless drunk driver. This defendant presented a clear danger to the citizens of Suffolk County and now will be held accountable for his dangerous actions.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on June 15, 2023, at approximately 7:04 p.m., Edsall was driving a stolen blue 2001 Ford Explorer northbound on North Ocean Avenue in North Patchogue. Video surveillance footage from a nearby business captured the stolen vehicle rear-end an SUV which was waiting to make a left turn into a parking lot.
The force of the crash caused the SUV to be pushed forward several feet and the stolen vehicle to spin into the oncoming southbound lane where it collided with two additional vehicles, one of which contained a 73-year-old woman. As a result of the crash, the victim suffered a broken nose, a fractured right wrist, a fractured right leg that required surgery, and other physical injuries.
During the crash, Edsall was ejected from the stolen vehicle and found lying unresponsive nearby. The Suffolk County Police Department transported Edsall to Stony Brook University Hospital, where a sample of his blood taken by hospital staff was subsequently seized pursuant to a search warrant. Edsall’s blood was tested, which revealed that his blood alcohol concentration was .13% at the time the blood was drawn.
On January 30, 2024, Edsall pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard Ambro, to the following charges:
One count of Aggravated Vehicular Assault, a Class C felony;
One count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony;
One count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree, a Class E
felony; and
One count of Driving While Intoxicated Per Se, a Class E felony.
Edsall is due back in court on March 4, 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison followed by 5 years of post-release supervision. The District Attorney’s Office is recommending that Edsall be sentenced to the maximum sentence allowed by law, which is 7.5 to 15 years in prison with 5 years post-release supervision. Edsall is being represented by Adam J. Markou, Esq. of the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James McCormack of the Vehicular Crime Bureau with investigative assistance from Detective Stephen Masciopinto of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Fifth Squad.