New Hyde Park man sentenced for driving drunk, causing crash that killed passenger, injured 3

A New Hyde Park man was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison Thursday for driving drunk at more than nearly three times the legal limit, killing his front passenger and injuring three others in an East Farmingdale crash, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Steven Sharma, 24, pleaded guilty in October to aggravated vehicular homicide for crashing his 2018 BMW into a concrete median on Route 110 during a Sept. 19, 2021, crash.

Sharma was driving 76 mph on a route 109 offramp with a 20 mph speed limit when he ran through a stop sign and crashed into the barrier at 3:40 a.m., killing Brandon Nazirbage, 22, of New Hyde Park. The other three passengers in the car were hospitalized with injuries.

“The defendant’s friends trusted him to get them home safely, but he did exactly the opposite,” Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “The defendant’s actions amounted to a lethal cocktail of choices that altered many lives. He left a family without a son, brother, and loved one, and now he must bear the consequences of his criminal actions.”

Prosecutors said Sharma’s blood alcohol concentration was measured at 0.22%, nearly three times over the legal limit.

In addition to aggravated vehicular homicide, Sharma pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, five counts of assault, one count of driving while ability impaired by drugs or alcohol and driving while intoxicated.

In addition to the prison sentence, Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz ordered Sharma’s driver's license revoked.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.