Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, of Freeport, sentenced in Hempstead crash that killed Katerine Vanegas Hernandez

A Nassau County judge sentenced a Freeport man who was intoxicated when he drove through a red light and killed a 6-year-old girl two days before her birthday last year to 6 to 12 years in prison on Monday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.

Donnelly said Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez’ blood alcohol content was 0.17%, more than double the 0.08% legal limit, an hour after the Aug. 7, 2023, crash in Hempstead that killed Katerine Vanegas Hernandez.

The crash occurred two days before the girl’s seventh birthday and left her 5-year-old brother, Gerson Adrian Gutierrez, with a fractured spine. Katerine's mother, Evelin Lorena Hernandez Santos, said she and her son have been devastated by their loss.

"You, Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, not only took her life but also her smile, her dreams, her joy of celebrating her 7th birthday with her little brother and her entire family," the grief-stricken mother said while reading a victim impact statement. 

"You took away what I loved most in my life," Hernandez Santos added. 

Bonilla Gutierrez’ attorney, Taryn Schechter of the Nassau County Legal Aid Society, did not return requests for comment.

Donnelly said Bonilla Gutierrez was intoxicated and speeding at about 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 7 when his Nissan Pathfinder ran a red light and crashed into a Toyota Corolla stopped, with hazard lights on, in the right lane of Hempstead Turnpike near Westminster Road.

The force of the impact sent the Corolla off the road and into a tree. The Nissan flipped multiple times, Donnelly said.

Katerine suffered significant internal injuries and was taken to NYU Langone Long Island Hospital, where she died shortly afterward, officials said. The driver of the vehicle, not identified by authorities, suffered multiple broken ribs.

Speaking at a news conference following the sentencing, Donnelly sounded frustrated as she talked to reporters about yet another DWI fatality in Nassau County. 

"I stand up before you time and time again and I am calling again for stricter penalties for our DWI cases, and I am calling again for people to wake up," Donnelly said. "Don't get behind the wheel of a car after you have been drinking or after you got high.'

Bonilla Gutierrez was apprehended by Nassau police near the crash scene. Empty beer cans were seen inside his Pathfinder and next to the Nissan at the crash scene, officials said.

Bonilla Gutierrez also pleaded guilty in June to second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault and driving while intoxicated.

"I hope God can forgive you for what you have caused," Hernandez Santos told the defendant.

Hernandez Santos said she tells her son that Katerine is in heaven, watching over him, but the pain Bonilla Gutierrez inflicted on her family is unbearable. 

"My days are not days," Hernandez Santos said. "Her presence is missed more and more every day. I miss her so much. A part of my life went with her. I still can’t resign myself to the fact that she’s not with me. Kati, my little one, was my sun every morning, my moon every night."