By CaraLynn Caulfield
A Long Beach man has pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and multiple other charges stemming from a February crash in Garden City that killed his passenger after he drove drunk into oncoming traffic and struck a tree.
Christhian Velasquez Galeano, 28, entered the plea on June 17 in Nassau County Court. He is expected to receive the maximum sentence of 9 5/6 to 22 years in prison when he returns to court on July 30.
The fatal crash occurred on February 9 at around 4:47 a.m., when Velasquez Galeano was driving a Nissan Maxima eastbound on Stewart Avenue with two passengers. He veered into oncoming traffic and slammed into a tree on the westbound shoulder, causing severe damage to the rear of the vehicle.
After the crash, Velasquez Galeano and his front-seat passenger fled the scene on foot, leaving 27-year-old Marco Zuniga unresponsive in the back seat. Garden City police tracked their footprints through the snow and found the pair hiding in bushes near a Nassau Boulevard home. Velasquez Galeano had blood on his hands and showed signs of intoxication.
Zuniga was transported to NYU Langone Long Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Velasquez Galeano was treated for injuries at Nassau University Medical Center.
A court-ordered blood test taken more than four hours after the crash revealed a blood alcohol concentration of .11%. Investigators also found two unopened beer bottles in the back seat of the vehicle.
Velasquez Galeano pleaded guilty to:
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree (a Class C felony)
- Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol (a Class D felony)
- Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting (a Class D felony)
- Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree (a Class E felony)
- False Personation (a Class B misdemeanor)
- Circumvention of an Interlock Device (a Class A misdemeanor)
“This defendant put the safety of other motorists at risk as he drunkenly and recklessly veered into oncoming traffic, and like a coward, fled the scene after he crashed, leaving his friend for dead in the backseat of the car,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly. “Today’s guilty plea marks the third time in the last decade that Galeano has been convicted of driving while intoxicated.”