Kwesi Williams, 43, gets up to 7½ years in crash that killed Sadayah Furet, 32

A Queens man was sentenced to 2½ to 7½ years behind bars for killing his passenger while driving under the influence in Elmont in December 2021, officials said.

Kwesi Williams, 43, of Queens, was given the prison term Monday for crashing into a utility pole while intoxicated and killing his passenger — Sadayah Furet, 32, of Newark — nearly three years ago, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a news release. She had recommended a sentence of 4 to 12 years in prison, according to the release.

“It was a sad day all around,” Justin Feinman, the defense attorney representing Williams, said in a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “It was a sad day for the victim’s family; it was a sad day for Mr. Williams.”

Just after 2 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2021, Donnelly said Williams was driving 74 mph in a 30-mph zone on Elmont Road when he crossed over the roadway, struck a unoccupied parked car and crashed into a utility pole, the district attorney said.

As a result of the crash, passenger Furet suffered “extensive injuries” to her head and neck, multiple broken bones and damage to her lungs, heart and other major organs, according to the news release. Officials said she was transported to NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, where she was pronounced dead at 3:33 a.m.

After transporting him to the same hospital, authorities executed a search warrant for Williams’ blood approximately 75 minutes after the crash. Officials said his blood alcohol content was 0.10%, more than the legal limit of 0.08%. Nassau police subsequently arrested Williams at the hospital.

On June 5, Williams pleaded guilty before Judge Robert McDonald to second-degree manslaughter and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

“Kwesi Williams’ reckless and irresponsible decisions caused a catastrophic chain of events that ended the life of Sadayah Furet,” Donnelly said in the release.

Newsday has previously reported that an analysis of crash and ticketing data, as well as local and national experts, revealed that increased alcohol and drug use, combined with rising mental health challenges and fragmented social networks during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to a surge in traffic fatalities last year, which had the highest levels since 2015.

“Driving while intoxicated is a selfish choice and can quickly lead to the tragic deaths of innocent people,” the district attorney said in the release. “Our thoughts continue to be with Sadayah’s family as they mourn her loss.”