'We all lost a piece of ourselves,' Sal Gomez, of Selden, says of injuries he suffered after being hit by car during triathlon

A Selden man who was struck by a vehicle while cycling in the Smith Point Triathlon last August spoke of the milestones he and his family missed due to his injuries as a Suffolk judge sentenced the driver to community service Tuesday.

Sal Gomez, 44, suffered a traumatic brain injury and fractures of his skull, spinal cord and neck when he was struck by Jakeline Figueroa as she drove without a license and attempted to exit the parking lot of the beach where the race was taking place. Gomez said his oldest son, Kyle, had to delay going to college as he recovered, and the family was forced to miss an opportunity from Make-A-Wish Foundation for his youngest son, Tyler, who had been given his father’s kidney.

"My family and I have lost time that we’ll never get back," Gomez told the court, as Figueroa listened. "These are special moments that we missed or were put on hold. We all lost a piece of ourselves."

Figueroa, 30, of Levittown, told Gomez she was sorry before receiving her sentence of 420 hours of community service, in lieu of 90 days in county jail, and five years’ probation after pleading guilty to second-degree reckless assault and reckless endangerment. She had previously been convicted of a DWI in Nassau County.

"I just want to apologize to the gentleman I hit," Figueroa said through a court interpreter. "It was an accident. It was never provoked. I’m here as a person to apologize to him."

State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro took exception to Figueroa’s use of the word "accident," saying the crash was caused by her "criminally reckless actions."

"You’ve heard compellingly from Mr. Gomez about what this has done to his life," Ambro said. "I know you didn’t intend to hurt Mr. Gomez . . . but you hurt him badly and dramatically impacted everything about his life."

Prosecutors previously said Figueroa was driving at a speed "not prudent for that location" and through a stop bar on the pavement into an area designated for race participants. She was also driving another person’s 2023 Nissan Rogue, bypassing the court-ordered interlock device in her own car.

Defense attorney Michael J. Brown, of Central Islip, said the interlock device was no longer required in Figueroa’s vehicle because more than a year had passed since the order, but she hadn’t taken the steps necessary to have it removed or to get her license back.

Brown previously said Figueroa was at the oceanfront park watching the sunrise with a group of friends before the early morning crash. He had said his client was already in the roped-off area with no knowledge of the race when she tried to leave the park.

Assistant Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Varuolo said Figueroa was not driving drunk the morning of the crash, though she did have a small amount of alcohol in her system.

Varuolo said while there was a dispute over how well-marked the parking lot was for the race before Figueroa pleaded guilty in May, she still needed to be held responsible.

"There were lots of cars and lots of people and the way she was operating the motor vehicle that day was irresponsible and reckless," the prosecutor said.

Brown said his client, who is the mother of two small children, lost her job as a result of the arrest. He echoed statements Varuolo made saying Gomez, who admitted he has much further to go in his recovery, has exhibited a "brave and courageous" perseverance.

Figueroa said she thought about her own son and said she would never want to see him put through what Gomez experienced.

"I am very regretful," she said.

Gomez said the only thing his family can ultimately hope for is that Figueroa learns from her mistakes.

"That way there’s never someone else who has to endure what we have," Gomez said.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.