Freeport Man Sentenced for Deadly Wrong-Way Drunk Driving Crash

Leo Canega

MINEOLA, N.Y. – The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office has announced the sentencing of Juan De Leon Collado, 30, from Freeport, to 7 to 21 years in prison.

This sentencing comes after Collado’s guilty plea to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, Assault in the Second Degree, and Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated. The charges stem from a November 2022 incident in Massapequa Park, resulting in two fatalities and serious injuries.

On November 6, 2022, at approximately 4:23 a.m., Collado, while intoxicated, drove a 2003 Honda CRV in the wrong direction on Sunrise Highway. His vehicle collided head-on with a 2022 Honda Civic.


Nicholas Berardino Jr., 24, a passenger in the Civic, was pronounced dead at the scene. The Civic’s driver sustained significant injuries, including a fractured hip.

Collado’s passenger, 29-year-old Amaury Ramirez Lora, also his cousin, was trapped in the vehicle and later succumbed to his injuries on November 20, 2022. Collado, found unconscious at the crash site, was arrested the same day by the Nassau County Police Department.

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