Alleged drunk driver indicted after off-duty police officer killed in car crash
SAINT JAMES, Long Island (WABC) -- An accused drunk driver has now been indicted on upgraded charges in the January car crash that killed off-duty Nassau County police officer Patricia Espinosa in Lake Grove.
Officer Patricia Espinosa, 42, was behind the wheel of a 2019 Alfa Romeo when her car was struck by a Chevy Silverado. Police say the alleged drunk driver was traveling northbound on Alexander Avenue when the car blew through a red light.
Suffolk County police arrested Matthew Smith, 20, of Hauppauge and charged him with a DWI. Both he and his 25-year-old passenger survived and were taken to Stony Brook hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Officer Espinosa was pronounced dead at the same hospital.
"Officer Espinosa was the heart of a true law-enforcement family - her husband Francisco Malaga, and her two brothers, Christian and David Almeida, all who proudly serve as police officers - and she leaves behind a two-year-old daughter Mia, who will grow up knowing their mother was a hero," said Nassau County PBA President Tommy Shevlin.
Smith will be arraigned Friday on the 19-count indictment, with the top count of aggravated vehicular homicide, before Judge Timothy Mazzei in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverhead.
Smith is also charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and aggravated vehicular assault.
He faces 8 to 25 years in prison if convicted.
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