An accused drunk driver has admitted to causing a late-night crash that killed his 22-year-old passenger.
Carlos Orellana Mata, age 36, of East Northport, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, May 8, in the death of Lenel Umana Guitierrez Lopez.
Prosecutors said Mata was drunk and speeding on Jericho Turnpike in Elwood shortly after midnight on March 18, 2023, when his SUV slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer.
“This defendant was operating a vehicle while being twice the legal limit of drinking and in the process, claimed the life of yet another young Suffolk County victim,” said District Attorney Raymond Tierney.
“We see this far too often where people are losing their lives through the carelessness of others on the roadways and aggrieved families are left without a loved one because of someone else’s lapse in judgment. This has to stop.”
In court Wednesday, Mata pleaded guilty to the following charges:
Carlos Orellana Mata, age 36, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide for a DWI crash that killed a man on Jericho Turnpike in Elwood on March 18, 2023.
Photo Credit: Suffolk County District Attorney/Google Maps street view Lopez, of East Northport, was killed instantly. When police arrived to the scene, Mata was still in the driver’s seat and had to be extricated from the vehicle. Officers noted that his eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred. Toxicology testing revealed that his blood alcohol concentration was .15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit for driving. Investigators also got a search warrant for his SUV, which showed that he was driving over 80 miles per hour at the time of the crash.- Aggravated vehicular homicide (felony)
- Second-degree manslaughter (felony)
- Aggravated driving while intoxicated (misdemeanor)
