Glen Cove Crash Kills Ambulette Patient; 2nd Driver Charged

GLEN COVE, NY — A Locust Valley driver has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and DWI after police said a car he was driving smashed into an ambulette Sunday night in Glen Cove, killing an 85-year-old patient who was inside.

Alvaro Gutierrez-Garcia, 27, was driving a 1997 Cadillac STS that crashed into an ambulette that had activated its lights near Walnut Road and Forest Avenue, police said. The crash happened around 11:45 p.m. Sunday.

Investigators determined the ambulette had been heading south on Walnut Road with lights and sirens activated and was transporting a male patient who was having trouble breathing. The sedan was heading eastbound on Forest Avenue when it hit the ambulette, causing the ambulette to overturn, police said.

Police and multiple ambulances were sent to the scene. The driver and EMT of the ambulette were both taken to a hospital for minor injuries. The patient, identified by police as Denis Motherway of Bayville, was declared dead at a hospital shortly after midnight.

Gutierrez-Garcia also faces charges of aggravated DWI and DWI. He was expected in court Tuesday in Hempstead.

It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney.