A Moriches man pleaded guilty for driving while intoxicated and crashing a 2009 Toyota Camry into a tree on Old Stone Highway in East Hampton.
On Father’s Day, June 15, 2025, Luis Gonzalo Barrionuevo Fuertes drove a group of seven teenagers in his 2009 Toyota Camry to a local beach in East Hampton. There, Barrionuevo Fuertes and the teenagers, whose ages ranged from 15 to 19 years old, consumed alcohol. The group then left the beach and Barrionuevo Fuertes drove them home. Six people, including a 15-year-old, were all passengers in the back seat.
At approximately 7:39 p.m., as Barrionuevo Fuertes was driving northbound on Old Stone Highway, he approached a curve in the road at a high rate of speed and drove into the opposite lane, where he nearly struck an oncoming vehicle. Barrionuevo Fuertes then drove off the roadway and crashed into a tree, causing the vehicle to roll onto its passenger side. One of the rear-seat passengers, Scarleth Samaniego-Urgiles, was killed. The remaining passengers were transported to local hospitals for medical treatment, with one rear passenger suffering a spinal fracture and severe lacerations to her hand that resulted in significant disfigurement.
Responding police officers saw that Barrionuevo Fuertes was exhibiting signs of intoxication and placed him under arrest. Barrionuevo Fuertes consented to a chemical test of his blood, which revealed that he had a .08% blood alcohol concentration. An analysis of the event data recorder from the car that Barrionuevo Fuertes was driving revealed that seconds before the crash, he was driving 74 miles per hour in a 30-mph posted zone.
On February 11, 2026, Barrionuevo Fuertes, 18, pleaded guilty to the following charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski:
- Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B felony
- Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony
- Aggravated Vehicular Assault, a Class C felony
- Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony
- Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child, a Class E felony
Barrionuevo Fuertes is due back in court for sentencing on March 18, 2026, and faces up to four to 12 years in prison.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores the outrageous and utterly unacceptable decision to get behind the wheel while intoxicated, especially when entrusted to drive others,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Driving while intoxicated is not a mistake; it is a selfish and lethal choice that ruins lives. Nothing can undo the pain inflicted on this family, as well as the other passengers in the car, but this conviction ensures the defendant will be held accountable for his crime.”