Suffolk DA: DWI Driver To Be Sentenced Today For Fatal Jericho Turnpike Crash
Central Islip, NY - May 5, 2017 - State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho will sentence a Lindenhurst carpenter this afternoon at 2:00 PM to six to 18 years in prison for causing a fatal crash while driving drunk, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.
Ryan Gurecki, 35, driving a 2010 Ford Explorer struck a 2016 Ford Escape that was stopped at a red light on westbound Jericho Turnpike, waiting to make a left turn onto Route 110 on the night of June 26, 2016. Crime lab tests, DA Spota said, showed the defendant’s blood alcohol level was .13 (legal limit is .08 for DWI) at the time of the crash.
The rear seat passenger in the Escape, Karen Holden, 56, died at Huntington Hospital. The driver, her husband William Holden, suffered a head injury and their son in the front passenger seat suffered an injury to his back. Gurecki told police at the scene he drank five beers earlier.
In March the defendant pleaded guilty to each charge in the indictment; the top count of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of second-degree manslaughter, one count of driving while intoxicated, and three third-degree assault charges.
State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho in Central Islip will sentence Gurecki Friday (5/5) at 2:00 PM.