Woman Permanently Blinded In One Eye After LIE Crash, Driver Pleads Guilty: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — An East Setauket man pleaded guilty Wednesday to driving while intoxicated and impaired by drugs when he caused a multi-vehicle crash on the Long Island Expressway that injured four people, including a woman who was permanently blinded in one eye, prosecutors said.

Matthew Sheehy, 48, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated and three counts of third-degree assault, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to court documents and statements Sheehy made during his guilty plea, he was driving a 2022 Ram pickup truck eastbound on the Long Island Expressway at about 12:21 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2024, prosecutors said.

Sheehy was speeding and weaving in and out of lanes when he veered onto the right shoulder between Exits 62 and 63 and crashed into a disabled 2010 Chrysler Town & Country minivan with one person inside, prosecutors said.

The crash sent the Chrysler into the expressway’s left lane, where it was struck by a 2018 Honda CR-V carrying three people, prosecutors said.

One passenger in the Honda suffered serious injuries, including a skull fracture, brain bleed and permanent loss of eyesight in one eye, prosecutors said. The other people inside the Honda and Chrysler also suffered injuries that required medical treatment, prosecutors said.

Sheehy was taken to a hospital, where he was arrested after officials determined he was intoxicated by alcohol and impaired by drugs, prosecutors said.

Sheehy pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Philip Goglas to aggravated vehicular assault, a felony; driving while intoxicated, a felony; and three counts of third-degree assault, misdemeanors, the DA said.

He is due back in court June 30 and is expected to be sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Sheehy is represented by Michael Brown, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“A woman lost sight in one of her eyes and could easily have died because this defendant selfishly chose to drive like a maniac on the Long Island Expressway that night,” Tierney said. “This guilty plea is an important step toward justice for this woman and the three others who were injured.”