MINEOLA, N.Y. — A West Hempstead man was sentenced Thursday to up to 21 years in prison for a 2021 drunk driving crash in Woodmere that killed a 15-year-old girl and injured four others.
Arlin Aguilera, 37, was convicted in August of aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges for the crash on Peninsula Boulevard that resulted in the death of Liel Namdar. Aguilera was sentenced by Judge Robert A. Schwartz after fleeing before his trial and being arrested two months later.
Prosecutors said Aguilera was driving over 70 mph while intoxicated when he crashed his 2014 RAM 1500 pickup truck into an Audi Q5 that was making a turn. Namdar, a backseat passenger, suffered fatal head trauma, while the driver sustained a severe traumatic brain injury, clavicle fracture, and jaw fracture. Three other teenage passengers were also hurt.
Aguilera was initially arrested in December 2021 but fled the jurisdiction before his trial, which was set to begin in August 2024. Authorities located and arrested him in Uniondale in October. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office had recommended a sentence of 8⅓ to 25 years in prison.
“Drunk driving continues to be an epidemic on our roadways,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. “We used every tool at our disposal to ensure that this defendant was found and held accountable.”
