17-Year-Old Sentenced After Wyandanch Crash Severed Woman’s Legs: DA

WYANDANCH, NY — A Brentwood teen was sentenced to up to four years in state prison for leaving the scene of a devastating hit-and-run crash that severed a woman’s legs and injured five other people, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Valdemar Meza-Martinez, now 17, was sentenced Wednesday to 1⅓ to 4 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under New York law, after pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an incident resulting in serious physical injury, a Class E felony, the DA’s Office said.

According to prosecutors, the crash happened at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 4, 2024, while Meza-Martinez, who was 16 years old at the time, was driving a 2010 Nissan Rogue westbound on Patton Avenue in Wyandanch.

Prosecutors said Meza-Martinez was driving outside the restrictions of his New York learner’s permit and without the required adult supervision when he struck a stopped 2014 Kia Optima, whose occupants had pulled over to exchange information with occupants of a stopped 2013 Toyota Camry directly in front of them.

The force of the collision pushed the Kia Optima into the Toyota Camry, pinning a woman who had exited her vehicle to inspect the damage, prosecutors said. The impact partially amputated both of the woman’s legs, according to court records.

After the crash, Meza-Martinez exited the Nissan Rogue and fled the scene on foot, even as bystanders and witnesses attempted to render aid to the severely injured victim, the DA said.

The woman was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where doctors were forced to surgically amputate the remainder of both legs, prosecutors said.

In addition to the victim who lost her legs, two occupants of the Kia Optima, two occupants of the Toyota Camry, and one occupant of the Nissan Rogue suffered various non-life-threatening injuries, according to the DA’s Office.

Law enforcement later apprehended Meza-Martinez outside his Brentwood home approximately 11 hours after the crash, prosecutors said.

Meza-Martinez pleaded guilty on Sept. 29, 2025, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Kerr, prosecutors said. On Jan. 14, Kerr sentenced him as an adult to the maximum prison term permitted under state law.

Meza-Martinez was represented by Lois Rowman, who could not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“This victim’s injuries are life-altering,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement. “The fact that a driver could strike this victim, take her legs, flee the scene as if nothing happened, and then only face a maximum sentence of 1⅓ to 4 years is incomprehensible. It is completely callous to leave an injured individual on the side of the road without checking on their well-being or seeking help.”