Hauppauge Man Gets Up to 22 Years for DWI Death of Nassau Officer

A Suffolk County judge sentenced a Hauppauge man to up to 22 years in prison Monday for the drunken-driving crash that killed Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa as she drove to work earlier this year.

Matthew Smith, 21, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges stemming from the Jan. 31 collision in St. James. Espinosa, 42, was struck and killed when Smith ran a red light at approximately 70 mph and slammed into her vehicle at the intersection of Route 347 and Alexander Avenue. She was pronounced dead at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Smith's passenger also suffered serious injuries in the wreck, including spinal and pelvic fractures and a severe head laceration, prosecutors said. A blood-alcohol test administered after the crash showed Smith's BAC was 0.20 — more than twice the legal limit. His passenger told police Smith had been driving at speeds reaching 125 mph earlier that night.

Prosecutors said Smith had been drinking in Patchogue before the crash and left Jake's 58 Casino Hotel shortly after 6 a.m. A bottle of rum and a shot glass were recovered from inside his vehicle.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said Espinosa, a wife and mother, was killed on her way to the precinct where she served, leaving behind a husband and a young daughter. Espinosa's husband is also a Nassau County police officer.

"Patricia Espinosa, a wife and mother who dedicated her life to protecting others, was killed on her way to work, leaving her daughter without a mother, her husband without a wife, and a family without their beloved daughter and sister," Tierney said at the time of Smith's guilty plea.

The Suffolk County judge also struggled to comprehend the circumstances of the crash, according to court accounts of Monday's sentencing. Smith will serve the sentence in state prison followed by three years of post-release supervision. He was also required to forfeit his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck as part of his plea agreement.