NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — An 18-year-old man pleaded guilty to charges related to a drunken crash in August 2023 that killed a six-year-old child, Nassau County prosecutors announced on Thursday.
Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, of Freeport, pleaded guilty Wednesday to manslaughter, three counts of assault and driving while intoxicated, officials said.
According to the district attorney's office, Bonilla Gutierrez was intoxicated and speeding at about 2:20 a.m. on Aug. 7 when he drove through a red light in West Hempstead and rear-ended a Toyota Corolla
The Toyota was stopped in the right lane of Hempstead Turnpike, near Westminster Road, with its hazard lights on at the time of impact.
Bonilla Gutierrez slammed into the rear driver's side of the Toyota, and the force of the collision sent it off the road and into a tree. The Nissan Pathfinder that Bonilla Gutierrez was driving flipped multiple times.
The impact caused passenger Katerine Vanegas Hernandez, six, significant internal injury, prosecutors said. She was transported to NYU Langone Long Island Hospital and died shortly afterwards.
Hernandez was two days away from her seventh birthday.
Her brother, five, was also in the Toyota and suffered a fractured spine, while the driver suffered multiple broken ribs.
Bonilla Gutierrez was apprehended by a Nassau County Police officer near the crash scene. Empty beer cans were found inside his car and next to the site, authorities said.
He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center for broken ribs and a broken nose.
A search warrant was issued for the driver's blood and it was taken at the hospital, revealing a blood alcohol content of 0.17% one hour after the crash.
"Katerine's mother had taken her children out for an early-morning drive to help them sleep and cool down from the summer heat," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. "Last August was a horrific time on our roadways, tragically claiming multiple lives, including Katerine's just two days shy of her seventh birthday."
Bonilla Gutierrez is expected to be sentenced to six to 12 years in prison when in court on June 30, and the district attorney's office recommended a sentence of six to 15 years.
"We continue to implore motorists not to drink and drive this summer," Donnelly said.
