‘There’s No Winning’: 20-Year-Old Pleads Guilty To Charges After 120 MPH DWAI Crash Kills His Sister: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A 20-year-old man from Queens could face up to 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the high-speed DWAI crash that killed his sister and another passenger in 2025, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

The Nassau County District Attorney's office announced that 20-year-old Jaden D’Souza had pleaded guilty Monday to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, one count of second-degree assault, one count of third-degree assault and one count of driving while ability impaired by drugs. The DA’s office said D’Souza is due back in court May 8 for sentencing that prosecutors expect will amount to between seven and 18 years of jail time.

Prosecutors said D’Souza had been driving along the Southern State Parkway at more than 120 miles per hour on the night of Jan. 12, 2025 with his 21-year-old sister, Haily D’Souza and 23-year-old Crystal Alba-Figueroa in the backseat. Additionally, prosecutors said a 23-year-old man was riding shotgun.

Prosecutors said D’Souza then lost control of the Dodge Dart he was driving, ran off the road and struck a tree. The car, prosecutors said, came to rest upside down on the shoulder near exit 30.

Prosecutors said Alba-Figueroa was thrown from the car during the crash and pronounced dead at the scene. Haily D’Souza was trapped in the passenger’s side backseat and pronounced dead at the scene as well, prosecutors said. The 23-year-old man, prosecutors said, was taken to Nassau University Medical Center with spinal fractures, a traumatic brain injury and other serious physical injuries.

An investigation of the crash, prosecutors said, revealed rolling papers, THC-infused products, a bong and lighters in the car. Upon executing a search warrant for Jaden D’Souza’s blood, taken at the hospital on the night of the crash, prosecutors said there were components of cannabis found in his bloodstream.

Data retrieved from inside the Dart showed that the car was traveling 123 miles per hour when D’Souza lost control of it, prosecutors said. Additionally, a spare tire came loose from the Dart during the crash and struck another car on the parkway, with that vehicle crashing into a guardrail and its driver suffering injuries, the prosecution said.

When reached for comment, Donald Rollock, who served as D’Souza’s attorney in the proceedings around the crash, said D’Souza was “contrite” in the aftermath of the crash. The Mineola-based attorney added that he hoped the crash could spur further action from law enforcement to stop the kind of driving that took place the night of his client’s crash.

“He's very contrite. He's gone through a lot, emotionally. It's just a tragedy all around for this family. There's no winning. Nobody wins here, not under these facts. But I think he knew that it was time to bring closure, for his family and himself,” Rollock said. “He’s a good kid, he just messed up…It's my hope that, going forward, that the public realizes that people have got to stop with this aggressive driving, these high speeds, weaving in and out of traffic, trying to show off. I think that law enforcement needs to do more — whether they use drones or whatever it is to catch these people — I think more needs to be done.”

Additionally, Rollock said he hoped the crash might prompt conversations at home about what can happen when people get behind the wheel.

“I hope that other people sit down with their children, when they're buying cars for their kids, or their children are operating their motor vehicles, just to explain to them about how the car is to be operated, how they're supposed to conduct themselves out there,” Rollock said. “Not only are you responsible for the passengers in your vehicle, but you're also responsible for everyone else around you...It’s fortunate that nobody else outside of the vehicle was injured, but [this is] a bad case. As a lawyer, a father, a citizen, it's a bad case.”

In a statement made Tuesday, the district attorney said D’Souza had handled his car, “like he was playing an arcade game,” expressing similar concerns to Rollock’s about the frequency of reckless driving across Long Island. The DA also expressed a hope that this crash, and the driver’s prosecution, could serve as an example of the consequences that can come from reckless driving.

“This defendant, high on marijuana, handled his car like he was playing an arcade game, zipping through traffic and speeding along the bends and curves of the Southern State Parkway at more than 120 miles per hour,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “His reckless disregard for his passengers – his family and friends – ended with his sister and a friend dead, and another passenger who is lucky to be alive today. Too many drivers are taking risks driving high or showing off at excessive speeds without considering the deadly consequences of their actions. This epidemic on our roadways must end, and I hope that this prosecution serves as an example for drivers of the accountability they will face if they get behind the wheel impaired and cause a tragic crash.”

For D’Souza’s attorney, the consequences people needed to be aware of were fairly straightforward in the aftermath of the tragic crash. As for his client, Rollock reiterated his previous point: Nobody "wins" in a case like this one.

“Everyone needs to understand that [if] you cause someone to die because you're [driving recklessly], you could go to prison. And that's unfortunate,” Rollock said. “He's owned up and he's manned up, and taken responsibility. But there's no winning.”