Hauppauge man pleads guilty in fatal crash that killed Nassau officer

Matthew Smith admitted in Suffolk County Criminal Court that he was intoxicated and ran a red light before his vehicle slammed into an off-duty Nassau County police officer driving to work on Route 347 in St. James and Lake Grove. The guilty plea, entered June 11, sets up a July 20 sentencing that could send the Hauppauge man to prison for 7 to 22 years.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said the plea covered aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges tied to the January 31 crash that killed Patricia Espinosa, 42. Prosecutors said Smith, who was 20 at the time of the crash and is now 21, also admitted to speeding, driving while intoxicated and crashing into Espinosa’s vehicle. They said his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

Espinosa was behind the wheel of a 2019 Alfa Romeo when it was struck by a Chevy Silverado traveling northbound on Alexander Avenue, also known as Route 347. She was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Smith and his 25-year-old passenger survived and were taken to the same hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, though prosecutors said the passenger was seriously hurt.

The plea reached after a March indictment on upgraded charges closes one chapter in a case that has become a grim reminder of how quickly a late-night or early-morning traffic violation can turn fatal. Smith’s admissions included manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, assault and aggravated driving while intoxicated, giving prosecutors a path to seek a lengthy prison term without a trial.

Espinosa’s death also cut deep inside a Nassau County law-enforcement family. Her husband, Francisco Malaga, is also a Nassau County police officer, and the couple left behind two children. Hundreds of officers and local leaders turned out for Espinosa’s funeral on February 5 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown, where Nassau County Police Benevolent Association President Tommy Shevlin described the family’s loss as devastating.

For Suffolk and Nassau, the case now moves from grief and outrage to sentencing, where the court will decide how much punishment fits a crash prosecutors say was driven by alcohol, speed and a red light that Smith ignored.