The driver accused of fatally striking a Nassau County police officer in late January reportedly flaunted his car keys in front of bar patrons who pleaded with him not to drive. Despite their warnings, he proceeded to drive under the influence, prosecutors have disclosed.
According to prosecutors, 20-year-old Matthew Smith left the James Joyce bar in Patchogue after a night of heavy drinking. Despite being urged by several individuals that he was too intoxicated to drive, Smith allegedly mocked their concerns by waving his keys before driving off and causing the death of Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa.
“Prior to departing from the Patchogue bar, [Smith] received multiple warnings against driving,” Assistant District Attorney Emma Richards stated during a Suffolk County court proceeding on Friday. Smith, who has now pleaded not guilty to an array of enhanced charges, allegedly disregarded these warnings.
Richards added, “The defendant taunted bar patrons by flaunting his keys before getting into his vehicle,” referring to Smith, who now faces charges including aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, and aggravated vehicular assault.
Initially, Smith had entered a not guilty plea to a single charge of driving while intoxicated. However, he was held on a $1 million bail as the grand jury prepared to indict him on more serious charges, which they confirmed on Friday.
The fresh indictment lists 19 charges in total, with the most severe potentially sentencing Smith to anywhere from eight years to life imprisonment if found guilty on the top charge.
Smith had a blood alcohol content of .20% — more than twice the legal limit — when he left the bar. He wound up speeding and swerving through local streets, driving over 70 mph in a 30 mph zone and flooring it through a “steady” red light just after 6 a.m. when he killed Espinosa, prosecutors said.
The officer’s car was hit so violently that it flipped upside down in the collision, leaving the 42-year-old cop hanging inverted inside the wreckage for more than 30 minutes as first responders worked to free her, prosecutors detailed.
His passenger, John Andali, had just met Smith less than an hour before the crash in a late-night taco spot across the street from the bar when the pair sparked a quick friendship. After leaving the bar, they tried to drive to Jake’s 58 casino, but found it closed, prosecutors detailed. Smith then headed off and would soon hit Espinosa.
Andali, who later told police Smith was acting “crazy,” posted videos on social media just 30 minutes before the crash that showed Smith behind the wheel of the truck hitting speeds of up to 125 mph, blowing stop signs and recklessly swerving around cars at high speeds on their way to the casino.
“[Smith] turned the roads of Suffolk County into his own personal raceway,” Emma Richards, the Assistant District Attorney prosecuting Smith, previously said.
