Tasha Brown pleads guilty in fatal DWI crash in Hempstead
The scene of the fatal crash on Front Street in Hempstead in May 2021 that killed Nelson Fuentes, 29, of Massapequa. Credit: Jim Staubitser
A 29-year-old Uniondale woman has pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges in connection with a high-speed drunken driving crash that killed a man sitting in a parked car in Hempstead in May 2021.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said Monday that Tasha Brown pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree assault and aggravated driving while intoxicated Friday before Judge Howard Sturim. Brown is facing 7 to 15 years in prison when she appears for sentencing on Dec. 7, Donnelly's office said in statement.
Authorities said Brown was driving a 2016 Toyota Corolla at speeds in excess of 90 miles an hour on Front Street in Hempstead when she crashed into a parked 2010 Toyota Corolla near the intersection of Hendickson Avenue at about 4:35 a.m. on May 29, 2021. Brown and three passengers in her Toyota were injured, two seriously, Nassau County police said.
The crash killed Nelson Fuentes, 29, of Massapequa — who was sitting in the parked 2010 Toyota.
The district attorney's office said Brown's blood-alcohol content was 0.20% — 2½ times the legal limit in New York — at the time of the crash.
"It is because of this defendant's actions that Nelson Fuentes is dead today," Donnelly said in a statement Monday, adding: "He was an innocent man in a parked car and was killed as Brown's vehicle careened down Front Street in Hempstead."
Donnelly called Fuentes' death a "senseless loss."
An indictment against Brown was returned on March 17. At her arraignment, Brown pleaded not guilty and was released on $100,000 bond and her attorney, William J. Kephart of Garden City, noting Brown was a single parent with no prior record, said then: "This is obviously a horrific incident and we're going to go through the process and see if we can reach an agreement that makes sense for all parties."
On Monday, Kephart issued a statement about the plea that read: "Ms. Brown accepted responsibility for her role in this terrible event. This case unfortunately does not depict the person she truly is as she has always been a loving, caring, mother to her young son, gainfully employed, a valuable member in her community and someone with no record prior to this event. She has understood from the beginning the tragic nature of all that has occurred and accepted responsibility for her actions."
If convicted at trial, Brown faced 25 years in prison.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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