LI Man Facing Charges For Crash That Left Friend Paralyzed: DA

A Bayville man was arraigned yesterday and indicted on charges stemming from a violent crash on the Wantagh State Parkway in February that left his passenger paralyzed from the neck down.

Anthony Chiantella, 27, was charged with first- and second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree vehicular assault, two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs and alcohol and second-degree harassment.

Chiantella is due back in court on March 18. If he's convicted of the top charge, he could face up to 25 years in prison. Chiantella was arrested after the crash and charged with vehicular assault and DWI. Monday's arraignment added new charges against him.

“This defendant endangered the life of every person on the Wantagh State Parkway when he allegedly drove his vehicle both drunk and high at outrageous speeds on the afternoon of Feb. 2,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “His 23-year old passenger was violently thrown from the vehicle and now is unable to walk or use his arms.”

According to Singas, around 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, Chiantella was driving 23-year-old Nicholas Mustakas' 2007 Honda Accord at more than 130 miles per hour on the northern Wantagh State Parkway when he lost control near Exit W6. The car slid across both northbound lanes, turned 180 degrees, struck the guardrail and began to spin out of control, throwing both Chiantella and Mustakas from the car, Singas said.

Singas said that Chiantella was drunk and high on cocaine at the time of the crash.

Chiantella suffered a broken pelvis and lacerated liver in the crash. Mustakas had collapsed lungs and shattered the C-4 vertebra in his back, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He was at Nassau University Medical Center's ICU for a month after the crash and was recently transferred to a rehabilitation center in New Jersey, where is under 24-hour nursing care. Doctors say he is unlikely to walk again.