Man Pleads Guilty In DWI Crash Into Home That Killed Passenger

Riverhead NY

09 June, 2022

6:00 PM

Description

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead man pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree manslaughter after crashing into a Flanders home in December and killing his passenger, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. Santiago Monzon-Archila, 40, had nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, Tierney said. Monzon-Archila also pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated. According to court documents and Monzon-Archila's statements, on Dec. 17 at 5 a.m., he lost control of his vehicle on Flanders Road and crashed through an iron fence, into a parked truck, and then through a wood fence, which caused the car to go airborne and finally crash into a house on Flanders Road, Tierney said. Police estimate that the Monzon-Archila's car crashed into the house at about 10 feet in the air and then, landed upside down with him trapped inside; police watched as he cut himself out of thedriver's seatbelt. Monzon-Archila's passenger, Edis Noe Hernandez Nunez, was ejected and was later pronounced dead at Peconic Bay Medical Center. Monzon-Archila told police that he and Nunez had been drinking beer since 7 p.m. the night before; police recovered beer cans at the crash scene. The district attorney's office applied for a search warrant and Monzon-Archila's blood was taken at the hospital one hour after the crash; the results of the analysis revealed a bloodalcohol content of .13 percent. The legal limit is .08 percent. "This tragedy could have been avoided if the defendant didn't drive drunk, period," Tierney said. "Instead, he chose to endanger Suffolk County residents through his reckless conduct and in the process caused the death of his passenger." The case was heard before Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz. Based on the charges, Monzon-Archila faces 5 to 15 years in prison, Tierney said. He is due back in court for sentencing on July 22 and he is being represented by Jeremy Mis of the Legal Aid Society.