Joseph Perez of Flanders was found guilty yesterday of aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with the January 2014 crash that killed 56-year-old Donna Sartori of Middle Island.
A jury in Central Islip found Perez guilty of aggravated vehicle homicide, manslaughter in the second degree and vehicle manslaughter in the second degree, all felonies.
Perez was accused of driving his F-150 pickup at a high rate of speed on Montauk Highway at 4:15 a.m. Jan. 5, 2014. He was traveling westbound near the Ponquogue Avenue intersection when he drove off the shoulder of the road, sideswiped a parked car and struck another vehicle and its driver, Sartori, who was outside of the car delivering newspapers, prosecutors said.
Sartori was pronounced dead at the scene.
Perez had left a nightclub, where he had crashed into another parked car and fled the scene without reporting, police said.
His blood alcohol content was .20 about four hours after the crash, which is nearly three times the legal limit, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota.
Aggravated vehicular homicide, a class B felony, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 25 years.
State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho presided at the trial.
Perez will return to court for sentencing on June 25.
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