Man Sentenced In Southern State Crash That Killed Father, His 2 Children

A Queens man convicted of driving drunk and leaving the scene of a Southern State Parkway crash that killed a man and his two children in 2015 was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 to 36 years in prison, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney.

In July 2015, O’Neil Sharpe Jr., 24, was speeding in a 2008 BMW when he crashed into a 2005 Toyota on the westbound Southern State just west of Exit 41–Bay Shore Road, according to the DA.

The Toyota burst into flames killing Ancio Ostane, 37, of Queens, and his two children, Andy, 8, and Sephora, 4. Ostane’s wife, Lucnie Bouaz-Ostane, was able to escape from the burning vehicle and was treated and released from the hospital.

Sharpe fled the scene of the accident, disappearing for four hours until he was arrested at his mother's Rockville Centre. His mother was also the registered owner of the BMW.

Video footage showed Sharpe parked near the burning wreckage of the car he rear-ended, removing a bottle from the rear seat of his car and tossing the bottle into the woods, Spota said. The bottle was later recovered and determined to be a tequila bottle, he said.

At the time of his arrest, his blood-alcohol level had dissipated to .06 percent, the DA said. (The charge of aggravated vehicular homicide Sharpe was convicted of alleged Sharpe was operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition.)

In February, he was found guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide, second degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and tampering with physical evidence, according to the DA.

Bouaz-Ostane spoke to Sharpe for the first time in court alongside her siblings and mother, Newsday reports.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Sharpe. I really wanted to see you,” she said, according to Newsday. “I could have been a sister to you. I could have been a cousin. I want you to know that you have destroyed a sister’s life, a cousin’s life.”

In addition, Bouaz-Ostane told Sharpe that he "destroyed [her] life," according to the DA.

Spota said Bouaz-Ostane showed remarkable courage in attending the sentencing.

“She was willing to bear the pain of reliving the memory of the night her family perished to tell the defendant in person of the devastation he caused by ignoring the consequences of his behavior.” he said. “This case should serve as a reminder during this spring’s season of proms and other social activities that two children and a young father died because of a young man’s reckless decisions under the influence of alcohol.”

Sharpe still faces a total of 23 charges which includes charges related to 23 fake credit cards that were found in a small pocket below the steering wheel of his car, the DA said.