Philip Mastropolo was just 44 years old when another driver slammed into his car and killed him in April 2005.
The person allegedly behind the wheel, Ganesh Shenoy, fled to India two weeks later where he had stayed ever since -- until he was extradited back to America last week.
Mastropolo was heading to work and was at the intersection of Levittown Parkway and Old Country Road in Hicksville when prosecutors say Shenoy ran a red light - going twice the speed limit - and T-boned his Cadillac.
"The impact of the crash was so violent that it launched Philip's car 65 feet into the front of a freightliner box truck," said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Mastropolo - a husband and father of two - was killed.
Shenoy initially lied to investigators, telling them he had a green light. And just 14 days later, he boarded a flight to India.
"He wanted a quick getaway and in the days that followed, it became clear why," Donnelly said.
For the next 18 years, Shenoy fought extradition to the U.S. But on September 25, Shenoy was finally returned to Nassau County - the first extradition from India to the U.S. since 2017.
"We got him, and he's not getting away from us again," Donnelly said.
For Mastropolo's family, the pain of his loss has never faded.
"His family deserved more time with the man they loved, instead they have lived in pain and with the pain of his loss for the last 20 years," Donnelly said.
But now they're comforted knowing the man responsible will face justice.
"The first thing the family said was, 'We never thought this day would come,'" Donnelly said.
Shenoy has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
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