West Hempstead man sentenced for fatal 2021 Woodmere crash

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The West Hempstead man that caused a fatal crash in Woodmere in December 2021 was sentence on Jan. 31 to up to 21 years in prison.

Arlin Aguilera, 37, was convicted of several charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide on Aug. 21 of last year.

He was driving a blue 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck that was traveling north on Peninsula Boulevard when it struck a white 2018 Audi Q5 sport utility vehicle that was turning southbound onto Peninsula Boulevard by Edward Avenue on Dec. 11 in 2021. It was alleged he was driving while intoxicated.

The subsequent crash killed Liel Namdar, 15, a sophomore at the Torah Academy for Girls in Far Rockaway. The four other people in the Audi were injured, including the driver Miriam Meltser who was severely injured.

“Liel Namdar was excited to be reunited with her friends from summer camp and hopped into the back of the car with them, ready for a fun night ahead. But tragically, Liel never left that car alive, because Arlin Aguilera, drunk and speeding, barreled into the vehicle and killed her,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a news release.

“Aguilera fled the jurisdiction days before his trial and remained a fugitive from justice until October when he was arrested by the Nassau County Police Department Fugitive Squad and U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force,” Donnelly added. “We used every tool at our disposal to ensure that this defendant was found and held accountable for the lives that he ripped apart. I thank the NCPD and U.S. Marshals for their persistent efforts. Drunk driving continues to be an epidemic on our roadways, and NCDA remains focused on educating drivers about the perils of driving while impaired and holding drivers accountable for flouting our laws and endangering our streets.”