A Valley Stream man was sentenced to up to 8-1/4 years in prison for a 2022 drunk-driving crash on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway that killed his 23-year-old half-brother.
On June 19, 2022, at approximately 7:45 a.m., an off-duty East Meadow Fire Department official was driving southbound on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway towards exit 1E when he saw a white 2018 Mercedes on top of the guardrail, leaning against a tree.
When he approached the vehicle, he saw the victim, 23-year-old Xavier Pena, conscious and pinned inside the vehicle and radioed for help. The defendant, Joshua Pena, the victim’s half-brother, was seen walking near the vehicle.
NCPD Emergency Services Unit and members of the Wantagh Fire Department assisted in removing the victim from the vehicle. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 8:43 a.m. The defendant was also transported to NUMC where a blood draw determined he had a blood alcohol content of .17 approximately forty-five minutes after the crash.
The data from the vehicle’s crash data recorder also revealed that, shortly before the collision, the defendant was driving approximately 127 miles per hour.
Joshua Pena’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle in New York was suspended at the time of the crash for failure to answer summonses in Queens County.
On January 30, 2025, Joshua Pena, 25, pleaded guilty before Judge Teresa Corrigan to Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a Class C felony), Assault in the Second Degree (a Class D violent felony), Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a Class D felony), two counts of Driving While Intoxicated (both unclassified misdemeanors), Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree (a Class A misdemeanor), Reckless Driving and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree (both unclassified misdemeanors).
He was sentenced on April 3, 2025 to 3-1/2 to 8-1/4 years in prison. NCDA recommended a sentence of 6 to 12 years in prison.
“Joshua Pena’s recklessness, driving twice the legal limit for alcohol and flooring his car on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, sealed his brother Xavier’s fate and ensured he would never return home again,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “Xavier was a young man, just 23 years old, with plenty of life to live. Now his family mourns the years they have lost with a loving son, while his brother is sent to prison for his death. These tragic crashes are avoidable if drivers just have the common sense to not drive drunk. We continue to keep Xavier’s family in our thoughts.”