Farmingdale Man Indicted on 11 Counts in Fatal DWI Snowstorm Crash

A Farmingdale man who spent more than six hours drinking at a local bar before driving into a Brentwood Army veteran head-on during a December snowstorm has been indicted on 11 counts, including two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.

John Ankelman, 59, pleaded not guilty before Suffolk Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins, who ordered him held in lieu of $50,000 cash bail, $250,000 bond or $500,000 partially secured bond. Ankelman is due back in court April 20.

The crash unfolded around 10 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2025, at the intersection of Pinelawn Road and South Service Road in Melville, near the Long Island Expressway. According to prosecutors, Ankelman had been a patron at the Changing Times Pub on Melville Road in Farmingdale from approximately 3:12 p.m. to 9:45 p.m., where he consumed several alcoholic drinks. When the bar closed early due to the snowstorm, Ankelman promised the bartender he would call Uber for a ride home. Instead, he drove his 2025 Mazda CX-70 northbound on Pinelawn Road through slippery roads and poor visibility, prosecutors said.

Nelson Gonzalez, 63, a U.S. Army veteran and hospital security guard from Brentwood, was driving his 2014 Toyota Tacoma southbound on Pinelawn Road, heading home from work, when he attempted to turn left onto Express Drive South on a green light. Ankelman allegedly struck him head-on. Gonzalez sustained severe body trauma and was taken to a local hospital, where he was removed from life support and died on Jan. 5, 2026, ten days after the collision.

A court-ordered blood test taken several hours after the crash showed Ankelman's blood alcohol content was 0.18 percent, more than twice New York's legal limit of 0.08 percent. Prosecutors also noted that his driving privileges were restricted at the time. When Suffolk County police arrived at the scene, Ankelman was visibly intoxicated and told officers he had contacts in the police department and the DA's office, according to prosecutor Selkowe, who addressed Justice Collins during the arraignment.

The 11-count indictment includes two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, criminally negligent homicide, aggravated driving while intoxicated, two counts of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, operating a motor vehicle in violation of license restrictions and two counts of speeding. If convicted on the top charge, Ankelman faces up to 25 years in prison.

Katz's office was appointed special prosecutor due to a conflict of interest in the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. The case had previously proceeded on a single DWI charge in Suffolk County District Court in Central Islip before the grand jury returned the expanded indictment and moved proceedings to Suffolk Supreme Court.

Justice Collins's courtroom was filled with nearly two dozen of Gonzalez's friends and relatives during the arraignment. Among them was Gonzalez's son, who traveled from his home in Sydney, Australia, to attend.