Man Pleads Guilty In Crash That Left 1 Dead, 6 Injured: DA

GREENPORT, NY — A Greenport man pleaded guilty after an alleged DWI crash that left one person dead and six injured in July 2018, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini.

Glenn Zaleski, 36, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony, and aggravated driving while intoxicated, a felony.

A blood test revealed Zaleski's blood alcohol level to be .23% following the crash, Sini said.

“This individual was driving with a BAC almost three times the legal limit,” Sini said. “When you get behind the wheel of a car in that state, you turn your vehicle into a potentially deadly weapon. It’s extremely dangerous and often — as it did with this case — results in tragedies that could have been avoided.”

On July 15, 2018, Zaleski was driving a 2016 Dodge pickup truck eastbound on Route 48 in Greenport when he lost control of the vehicle and crossed into the westbound lane into oncoming traffic, Sini said. His vehicle struck a minivan containing seven occupants, all residents of Flushing, who were returning from visiting Lavender by the Bay in East Marion, Sini said.

The driver of the minivan, Youfeng Yang, 51, of Flushing, was killed in the motor vehicle crash; two passengers suffered serious physical injuries and the remaining four passengers suffered various physical injuries, Sini said.

Zaleski is expected to be sentenced by Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando to up to five to 15 years in prison; he is due back in court on August 8, Sini said.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Raymond Varuolo of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.

Zaleski was arraigned in December on a 30-count indictment, according to Sini. Zaleski appeared in Suffolk County Court before Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho in Central Islip and initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were upgraded from an initial DWI charge in July, Sini said.

Zaleski was charged in December with seven counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, a felony; second degree manslaughter, a felony; eight counts of aggravated vehicular assault, a felony; two counts of second degree vehicular manslaughter, a felony; two counts of first degree vehicular assault, a felony; two counts of second degree assault, a felony; aggravated driving while intoxicated, a felony; two counts of driving while intoxicated, a felony; three counts of third degree assault, a misdemeanor; reckless driving, a misdemeanor; and failure to maintain lane, a traffic infraction, Sini said.

According to a Newsday post, Zaleski told authorities that he'd had six to eight beers at a family party and then slept in his truck before driving.

The post added that Zaleski's attorney Anthony Rutkowski said his client had "expressed remorse."