Mineola, N.Y. – Arlin Aguilera, a 37-year-old man from West Hempstead, has been convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges in connection with a December 2021 crash on Peninsula Boulevard in Woodmere that claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl and seriously injured the driver of the vehicle she was in. The verdict was announced yesterday by Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
Aguilera was found guilty by a jury after a trial before Judge Robert A. Schwartz on charges including aggravated vehicular homicide (a B felony), manslaughter in the second degree (a C felony), two counts of assault in the second degree (a D felony), two counts of assault in the third degree (an A misdemeanor), and two counts of driving while intoxicated (an unclassified misdemeanor). The trial began on August 12, 2024, and the jury reached a verdict in less than one hour of deliberation.
The crash occurred on December 11, 2021, at approximately 10:54 p.m. Aguilera was driving a 2014 RAM 1500 pickup truck while intoxicated and speeding northbound on Peninsula Boulevard. As an Audi Q5 attempted to make a turn from Edward Avenue into the southbound lanes of Peninsula Boulevard, Aguilera’s vehicle struck it with devastating force.
The collision resulted in the death of 15-year-old Liel Namdar, who sustained severe head trauma. The driver of the Audi suffered serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, a clavicle fracture, and a jaw fracture. Three other teenage passengers in the vehicle also sustained various injuries.
Aguilera was arrested on December 12, 2021, in Woodmere by members of the Nassau County Police Department. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 4, 2024, and faces up to 25 years in prison.
“Fifteen-year-old Liel Namdar was a typical teenager, enjoying a long-awaited reunion with her friends from summer camp on that December night,” said DA Donnelly. “The girls had planned a sleepover and were being driven to one of their homes to continue the fun when they were broadsided by a drunk and speeding Arlin Aguilera. The crash killed Liel, seriously injured the driver, and forever altered the lives of the surviving teenage girls who endured this tragedy. Every day we place our trust in our fellow drivers when we get behind the wheel of a car or clip our children into the backseat. This defendant betrayed that trust with fatal and irreparable consequences. Our thoughts remain with Liel’s family as they mourn her tragic loss, and we will continue to hold drunk drivers accountable for their irresponsible actions that endanger our roadways.”
