Susannah Smith of Sea Cliff sentenced to 2 to 6 years in prison for DWI crash that killed Milton Diaz

The night she ended Milton Diaz’s life, Susannah Smith of Sea Cliff told police she planned to just stay home and have a couple of beers.

But a phone call invitation from a friend prompted her to get behind the wheel of her 2015 Ford Focus on June 15, 2022, and cause the accident that shattered the lives of two families — hers and Diaz’s.

On Friday at her sentencing on manslaughter, assault and drunken driving, Smith’s family sat on the opposite side of the courtroom from Diaz’s, both weeping over that night’s aftermath that resulted in a sentence of 2 to 6 years in prison.

“My friend asked me to go out. I had just picked up a vegan pizza at Pizza Twist and was heading to my friend’s house,” she told investigators. “I was texting for two seconds.”

She veered off the road into a utility pole, bringing it down with a tangle of wires, official said.

Minutes later, Diaz drove his 2006 Honda motorcycle down the “pitch-black” road and into the wreckage caused by Smith, causing him to crash, according to authorities. He died at the scene.

Smith was arrested at the scene though she was unaware that she had caused someone's death until the next day.

In August, Smith pleaded guilty.

Diaz's daughter, Lidia Fiallos, the only girl of three siblings, told the court that she has lost her focus and her hope for the future.

“Realizing that he was gone affected me so much that I would cry every day and I stopped doing the things that I loved,” she said. The young girl said that she had grown closer to her dad in the months before the accident and she felt like she could tell him anything.

“It hurts knowing that I won’t get to share the future with him. Now that he has passed away, I won’t ever get to have my father and daughter dance with him,” she said. “Every girl dreams of her Quince, but I don’t want one because me and my dad talked about it and now I won’t be able to share it with him,” she said.

Diaz's youngest son, Milton Garcia, said he was set to graduate from elementary school when the accident happened.

“I graduated from elementary school without my dad. On the day I graduated, we also had to bury him,” he said.

His cousin Nelson Martinez asked the judge for the maximum 15-year sentence for Smith to bring justice for a man he said had helped him get through law school.

“I pray this court recognizes our suffering and our voices in this matter, and that it imposes a sentence powerful to deter others from committing Susannah Smith’s crimes in the future,” he said. 

After the prosecutor and her defense lawyer spoke, Smith was allowed time to speak.

“Nothing I am about to say will change what I have done,” she said. “There’s nothing I regret more than my decision to drive drunk. I am unbelievably ashamed at what I have done and Mr. Diaz’s family does not deserve this. I will never forgive myself for what I did that night.”

Justice Robert Schwartz, who presided over the sentencing, appeared to wipe tears away from his eyes after she spoke and took a moment before doling out his punishment.

First, he addressed the Diaz family.

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” he said. “I know you are suffering. If I could impose a sentence that would lessen your suffering I would. I can’t do that, no sentence that I would impose would give you back what you lost. I know that some in Mr. Diaz’s family will be unsatisfied with the sentence I impose.”

Then Schwartz directed his statements to Smith.

“Your actions were incredibly reckless,” he said. “I understand that you were 21, but you were old enough to know you should not be drinking and driving.” 

He said that he believed that she was sincere in her apology and had remorse for her actions, but he said he doubted that she told the truth about having just three glasses of wine.

Prosecutors said her blood alcohol content was over twice the legal limit.

“If you are a decent human being, and I think you are, I hope you find a way to channel what you have done in a positive way,” the judge said.