Nassau Man Gets Max Sentence For Deadly High-Speed Crash

An Island Park man received the maximum sentence for killing two people in a high-speed crash in Lynbrook in 2015.

John Aniano, 27, received a sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison for the January, 2015 crash on Sunrise Highway that killed Sharon Long and John Jones.

On Dec. 21, 2016, Aniano was convicted of two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of first-degree vehicular manslaughter, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree vehicular manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs and reckless driving.

“Sharon Long and John Jones were killed by John Aniano’s extreme recklessness when he drove over 100 miles per hour through red lights, while high on marijuana and willfully un-medicated for an underlying disorder,” said District Attorney Madeline Singas. “This defendant was given exceptional individualized care, attention and treatment and rejected all of it in favor of smoking marijuana and driving in a manner that could have killed many more people on busy Sunrise Highway. Aniano displayed an utter contempt for the lives of the people in his path, and Sharon Long and John Jones paid the price.”

On Jan. 12, 2015, at 8:13 p.m., Aniano was driving his 2004 Mercedes Benz westbound on Sunrise Highway in Lynbrook at more than 100 MPH in a 30 MPH zone. As he approached Denton Avenue, he drove around traffic, onto a shoulder and through a red light.

Aniano then accelerated westbound and ultimately crashed into the back of a 2005 Toyota Avalon stopped at a red light at Forest Avenue. The Toyota was being driven by by John Jones, 54, with Sharon Long, 53, in the front passenger seat. Aniano's car crushed the rear passenger side of the victim’s car, pushing the back passenger seat into the dashboard of the vehicle. The victims’ car was propelled more than 250 feet into the eastbound lanes where it struck the driver’s side of a 2007 Toyota traveling eastbound.

Long suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Jones was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital where he later died of his injuries. The driver of the 2007 Toyota was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Aniano, who was seen by police as being under the influence of drugs, was arrested at the scene by members of the Lynbrook Police Department. A test of his blood revealed the presence of Delta 9 – THC, the main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.

Photo: Patch