MINEOLA, N.Y. – Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Bay Shore man pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a July 2014 crash in which two of his passengers were seriously wounded in a single-car crash on the Wantagh State Parkway.
Dwayne Alcala, 29, pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Patricia Harrington to Vehicular Assault in the 1st Degree (a D felony), Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle (an E felony), Reckless Endangerment in the 2nd Degree (an A misdemeanor), Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of Alcohol and Drugs (an unclassified misdemeanor) and Reckless Driving (an unclassified misdemeanor).
The defendant is due back in court on Jan. 22 and will be sentenced to three to six years in prison.
“The defendant was impaired by drugs and alcohol and couldn’t control his speeding car when he endangered everyone in his path and then crashed into a tree, severely injuring two of his passengers,” Acting DA Singas said. “So many young lives were impacted by this driver’s recklessness and this crash serves as a reminder, especially as we enter this week of holiday celebrations, never to get into a car with a driver who has been drinking or doing drugs.”
Acting DA Singas said that on July 2, 2014, at 1:30 a.m. the defendant was driving a 2007 Toyota Corolla on the Wantagh State Parkway at a high rate of speed with three passengers in his car. As Alcala attempted to exit the parkway at exit W4, the car went off of the road and struck a tree head-on in a heavily wooded area. A backseat passenger was thrown into the windshield, sustaining very serious injuries which required surgery and an extended hospital stay and a front seat passenger suffered serious injuries as well.
The defendant was driving impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time he crashed the car. Alcala was also driving with a suspended license.
The defendant was arrested at the scene by New York State Police.
Assistant District Attorney Stefanie Palma of Acting DA Singas’ Vehicular Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case. Alcala is represented by Ed Galison, Esq.