Nylah Frazier, 19, was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and faces charges of second-degree manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
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She pleaded not guilty.
Frazier was driving a BMW X3 when she crashed into a parked vehicle on Westminster Road in West Hempstead back in October 2021, according to court documents.
"The defendant is accused of speeding at more than 100 miles per hour and blowing through a red light before losing control of her SUV, crashing into a dump truck, and killing her two teenage passengers," Donnelly said. "Two young people senselessly lost their lives in this crash, and we continue to extend our condolences to their families."
Video featured above is from previous coverage
The impact caused the SUV to spin and flip several times, ejecting 19-year-old Kurtis Caesar and 17-year-old Amanda Arguinzoni -- both passengers -- who did not survive.
Arguinzoni was a senior at West Hempstead High School, while Caesar was a recent graduate of Cambria Height Academy in Queens and worked for FedEx.
"Every day I wake up, I see him," Caesar's mother, Nadia Winter Baylias, said at the courthouse. "Every time I close my eyes, I see him."
Family members said Arguinzoni was Caesar's girlfriend.
"She wanted to help everyone," her mom, Ruby Hernandez, said. "She gave herself up."
Her parents heartbroken.
"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy," dad Pedro Arguinzoni said.
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Frazier was also seriously injured in the crash.
"Remorse is an understatement for how she feels that she was involved in this accident," her attorney, Marc Gann, said.
In court, it was revealed Frazier got into a fight with her boyfriend that night before getting behind the wheel.
The judge set bail to $75,000 cash.
If convicted on the top charge, Frazier faces five to 15 years in prison.
"He texted me 11:29 that night, 'Mom I'm coming home,'" Winter Baylias said. "And he never got home."
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Frazier is due back in court in September.
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