21-Year-Old Pleads Guilty To Manslaughter In Fatal Melville Crash

A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter charges related to recklessly causing a 2014 crash in Melville that killed a 19-year-old woman, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

According to authorities, Brandon Charles, of Wheatley Heights, pleaded guilty to the top count of second-degree manslaughter during a pretrial hearing. He waived his right to appeal and will be sentenced on May 4 to 3 to 9 years in prison.

On Nov. 1, 2014, Charles was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Camaro, with two others in the vehicle, heading northwest on Little East Neck Road at the merge of Colonial Springs Road when the vehicle veered off the road, skidded and overturned into a wooded area at 4:20 a.m. The back seat passenger, 19-year-old Wyandanch resident Carla Vanessa Flores, was killed in the crash.

The DA says Charles did not tell police at the scene of the crash that he was driving the vehicle, which was owned by 22-year-old Dix Hills resident Joseph Dunn, the front seat passenger. Dunn was arrested for having a fraudulent New Jersey driver’s license.

Charles pleaded guilty in September of 2015 to a manslaughter charge but the plea was vacated when his new defense attorney submitted a motion, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, which was granted, the DA said.

Image via SCDA