Santos Pleads Guilty to DWI Homicide Charges

Albertson woman pleads guilty to entire indictment, including aggravated vehicular homicide, assault and DWI

MINEOLA, NY – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced today that Sophia Santos has pleaded guilty to the entirety of a 14-count indictment charging her with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, DWI and Vehicular Assault in connection with a fatal November 2007 car crash that killed a 63-year-old Valley Stream woman and injured her cousin, sister and husband.

After accepting Santos’ admission to each count in the indictment, Nassau County Judge William Donnino promised to sentence the 21-year-old Albertson woman to a term of three to nine years in prison at her next scheduled court appearance, October 8.

Rice said that in the early morning hours of Sunday, November 11, 2007 Sophia Santos was driving a 2006 Mercedes Benz westbound on Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown.  Rice said that Santos ran the red light located at the intersection of Wantagh Avenue and Hempstead Turnpike, striking a 2005 Chevrolet being driven by Nancy Tumminello, of Elmont.  Tumminello’s cousin and a passenger in the car, Virginia Casazza-Urgo, was killed in the crash.  Injured in the crash were Tumminello and fellow passengers and family members Linda Chapman, of Levittown, and John Urgo, of Valley Stream.  Ms. Chapman, Casazzo-Urgo’s sister, and Mr. Urgo, the victim’s husband, were both 53 years old at the time of the incident.  Ms. Tumminello was 48 years old at the time of the crash.

Rice said that the defendant’s blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was .24, three times the legal limit, and that she ran a steady red light before striking the victim’s car in the middle of the intersection.  Rice said that Santos didn’t have a valid driver’s license at the time of the incident.

Santos pleaded guilty to two counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree, Vehicular Assault in the First and Second Degrees, Assault in the Second Degree, three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, two counts of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol, Reckless Driving, and operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license.

In December 2007, Santos became the first defendant in New York State to be charged with Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a law that Rice helped draft and pass through the state legislature just days before the fatal incident.  State Senator Charles Fuschillo carried the bill in the legislature and was instrumental in its passing.  As a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison, Aggravated Vehicular Homicide is the most serious DWI-specific state law in New York State.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Lampert, of the DA’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, is handling the case for the District Attorney’s Office.  Ms. Santos is being represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County.