Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Hicksville man pleaded guilty today to aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges for a June 2022 high-speed crash in Hempstead that killed a 48-year-old man and seriously injured his wife.
Oscar Argueta, 37, pleaded guilty before Judge Robert McDonald to charges of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (a B felony); Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a C felony); Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony) and Driving While Intoxicated (an unclassified misdemeanor.) The defendant is due back for sentencing on February 7, 2024, and is expected to be sentenced to five to 12 years in prison.
The NCDA recommended a sentence of seven to 21 years in prison.
“Oscar Argueta was drunk and driving 93-miles-an-hour in an SUV when he plowed into the Popoola family’s Mercedes, killing husband David and seriously injuring his wife,” DA Donnelly. “The force of the crash was so great that the victim’s vehicle was launched into a nearby utility pole. There’s no excuse for drunk driving when there are cab services and ride-sharing apps available with one swipe on a cellphone.”
DA Donnelly said that on June 26, 2022, at approximately 1:40 a.m., the defendant was traveling northwest on Greenwich Street in Hempstead in a Dodge Durango while intoxicated and driving at a high rate of speed when he T-boned a Mercedes Benz G300 crossing the intersection on Curtis Avenue.
The victims’ vehicle struck a curb causing the car to flip into a utility pole. Forty-eight-year-old David Popoola, who was the passenger, and his wife, were trapped inside of the vehicle after the collision.
Popoola was pronounced deceased at the scene. His wife was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital with serious physical injuries and underwent emergency surgery on her wrist.
The defendant remained at the scene and was arrested by members of the Hempstead Police Department.
Deputy Bureau Chief Katie Zizza of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case. The defendant is represented by Dennis Lemke, Esq.