RVC woman sentenced in DWI death of friend

A Rockville Centre woman was sentenced to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison for the drunk driving manslaughter of her friend in September 2013.

Asya Ulmer, 24, was found guilty in August by a Nassau jury of Manslaughter in the second degree (a C felony), Vehicular Manslaughter in the second degree (a D felony), Driving While Intoxicated (an unclassified misdemeanor) and Driving While in an Intoxicated Condition (an unclassified misdemeanor).

The jury found the defendant guilty after less than a day of deliberations at the end of a trial that lasted approximately four weeks. Ulmer was sentenced by Acting Supreme Court Justice Jerald Carter to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison on both felony counts and one year on both misdemeanor counts. The sentences will run concurrently. Ulmer’s license is also revoked for a minimum of six months after her release and she must install an ignition interlock device on any vehicle she owns or drives.

“Asya Ulmer killed her passenger and friend, 21 year old Jennifer Kristen Alexis, by driving recklessly and drunk with a BAC of at least .15,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “Jennifer trusted Ulmer to get her home safely but Ulmer betrayed that trust by driving into the back of a parked tractor trailer and then by blaming Jennifer for the crash. No words can ever comfort or ease the pain and suffering that Jennifer Alexis’s family will feel for the rest of their lives.”

On Sept. 15, 2013, at approximately 5:50 a.m., Ulmer was driving on North Centre Avenue in Rockville Centre with passenger Jennifer Alexis in the car when she drove directly into a tractor trailer that was parked on the right shoulder. The collision was captured on surveillance video from a nearby store. The collision sheered the roof off the car and Alexis was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ulmer and Alexis had gone by train to a club in New York City at approximately 12:30 a.m. from Rockville Centre. They returned after 5 a.m. when the intoxicated defendant walked by a cab stand before getting into her car with the victim to drive to the defendant's home.