Sergio Vera, 60, pedestrian struck by alleged drunken driver in Uniondale this month, has died, police say
Police at the scene in Uniondale where pedestrian Sergio Vera, 60, was struck June 10 by a driver accused of being drunk. Credit: Jim Staubitser
A pedestrian who was struck earlier this month in Uniondale by an alleged drunken driver has died, the Nassau County Police Department said Thursday.
Sergio Vera, 60, a Uniondale resident, sustained head trauma in the crash June 10 at 10 p.m. while walking north on Front Street at New York Avenue, the department wrote in a news release.
The driver, 44-year-old Eric O. Wheatley of Uniondale, who was behind the wheel of a 2018 Mercedes-Benz sedan, was arrested about an hour later, the release said. He was charged with second-degree vehicular assault and driving while intoxicated.
The particulars of the crash weren’t disclosed.
According to a charging document filed in court, Wheatley had a 0.056% blood alcohol content. A test result higher than 0.05% is legal evidence of impairment under New York law; 0.08 or higher is evidence of intoxication.
A police officer said that Wheatley had bloodshot and glassy eyes, the document said.
He was arraigned and freed without bail. Wheatley's attorney, Timothy David Albridge, said his client's "preliminary breath test result at the scene was below the minimum legal limit required to sustain a charge."
Earlier this month, Albridge said, "This incident was nothing more than a traffic accident, not a crime."
The victim’s family could not be immediately reached Thursday for comment.
At least 63 pedestrians were killed on Long Island last year — 44 in Suffolk County and 19 in Nassau — according to preliminary statistics for 2022 maintained by the Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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