Former Suffolk County Community College dean sentenced in vehicular homicide drug driving case

Robert Beodeker of Aquebogue was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison today in connection with the crash that claimed the lives of two men on a Nassau County highway in March 2013.

Beodeker, 52, pleaded guilty in April to aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of methamphetamine.

He has been incarcerated in Nassau County jail since the March 5, 2013 crash that killed John Elder, 76, of Freeport, and Edward Ross, 65, of North Bellmore on the Meadowbrook Parkway.

Elder and Ross were standing near a disabled vehicle at the time of the midday crash, according to state police. They were stopped on the hazard markings of the parkway when Beodeker, driving a GMC pickup, crashed into them and their vehicle.

Beodeker was indicted in April 2013 on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of second degree manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, driving while ability impaired, possession of a hypodermic instrument, reckless driving and unlicensed operation.

“This defendant’s disastrous decision to drive while high on crystal meth resulted in the tragic loss of two innocent lives, John Elder and Edward Ross,” Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said in a press release.

“Though no sentence can bring back his victims to their families, I hope this top-count conviction and sentence brings some solace to the loved ones of these blameless men, who were stopped in a safety zone. This case highlights how there is no ‘safety zone’ when a driver is impaired and that the victims of these drivers are both random and innocent.”

Beodeker, who was an associate dean at Suffolk County Community College at the time of the crash, resigned from that post in March 2014 after being suspended without pay immediately following the crash. He was on his way to work when the accident occurred, according to prosecutors.