Christopher Flores, of Long Beach, sentenced to prison in DWI crash that killed Queens teacher Scott Brower

The Long Beach motorcyclist who was drunk and high when he struck and killed a Queens high school gym teacher walking home from a local bar in 2022 was sentenced to 5 to 12 years in prison Tuesday morning.

Christopher Flores, 29, a father of three, wept throughout the hearing and pleaded for forgiveness from the sister of Scott Brower, who died in the March 19, 2022, crash.

“I’m sorry,” Flores said, sobbing in his wheelchair as Carleigh Brower described the physical and emotional toll the unexpected, violent death of her brother had on herself and her family.

Flores, a construction worker, was arrested the day after the crash and charged with second-degree manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, second-degree assault, drunken driving and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. His blood alcohol content was 0.17, more than double the legal limit, and investigators found Delta 9 THC, the intoxicant in marijuana, in his blood, prosecutors said.

Scott Brower, 42, of Rockville Centre, had opted not to drive home after a night out watching college basketball and walked the few blocks home just before midnight on Merrick Road, crossing at Forest Avenue when Flores struck him in the crosswalk on his 2020 BMW motorcycle.

Brower was pronounced dead at 1:40 a.m. at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

“Scott made the responsible decision; he made the choice to walk home to his wife and daughter,” Nassau County prosecutor Stephanie Dellinger told the court. “This defendant didn’t do the right thing, so Scott Brower never made it home.”

Flores, whose wife and children were in the courtroom, still suffers from nerve damage to his left arm, which he wears in a sling, and traumatic brain injury from the collision.

This is the second criminal conviction for Flores for drunken driving.

“He, more than anyone, knew the consequences of driving while intoxicated because he had done it before,” Dellinger said. “This shows a lack of regard for the law but also the life and safety of others.”

Brower taught physical education in Flushing, Queens, at P.S. 20, where he also coached basketball, his sister said.

“Scott was tragically taken from his family, his friends, and the Flushing community he served with pride by this careless and reckless defendant,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said. “Our thoughts remain with all those who loved Scott as Flores is sentenced for this heartbreaking and truly senseless crime.”

Brower’s infectious smile and hearty laugh made him a favorite among faculty and students at the Queens school, so much so that they dedicated the gym basketball court to him after his death, loved ones said.

During the hearing, his sister described a man full of enthusiasm who enjoyed basketball, hip-hop and books.

“He never stopped moving, talking and cracking jokes,” Carleigh Brower said. “Empathy was his superpower.

“He was so happy that night; he never saw you coming. None of us did. Our lives will never be the same. You extinguished my brother’s beautiful life.”

She said he had married her best friend in high school and they had moved into a house in Rockville Centre to raise their daughter, Anna, who was 21 months old at the time of the crash.

His wife has since moved out of the house, the sister said, because living near the intersection where he died was too painful a reminder.

“He was the center of our family, which is broken without him,” she said. “I am broken without him.”

Flores acknowledged the pain that Scott Brower's family is feeling but said he and his family are also suffering.

“I see two families go through immense suffering,” he said before the sentencing. “I wish that I could go back and change the decision that I made that night. I am so sorry.”

Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Caryn Fink noted that Flores pleaded guilty and spared the Brower family the pain of a trial, but said that he should have known better.

“It’s a pain that no family should ever endure,” the judge said. “Your decision to drive that night was reckless. I hope that going forward you live your life in a law-abiding way.”