Nassau Man Sentenced In Death Of Elderly Couple

A Massapequa man was sentenced on Monday to 3 1/2 to 10 1/2 years in prison after he drunkenly crashed his car in April 2017 and killed an elderly couple from Melville.

John Hartwig, 64, had pleaded guilty in January to first-degree vehicular manslaughter and two counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

“My heartfelt condolences go out to the Glickman family, who had their parents and grandparents stolen from them just moments after a family dinner together,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “The 64-year-old defendant is a bar owner who ought to have known better than to selfishly drive drunk. Drunk drivers do not see and react to people and everyday situations. This is the reality of drunk driving: it causes unending pain and heartbreak.”

On April 22, 2017 at 8:10 p.m., Hartwig was driving home from his bar in Lynbrook, east on Merrick Road in Massapequa, when he hit and killed Melvyn Glickman and his wife, Barbara, both 77. The two were walking to their car after having just finished dinner with their family at a nearby restaurant.

After he hit the couple, Hartwig registered a .13 percent blood alcohol, and told police that he had been drinking at his bar, McQuade's.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorney's Office