NEW HYDE PARK MAN SENTENCED TO 4-12 YEARS IN PRISON FOR AGGRAVATED VEHICULAR HOMICIDE

(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Steven Sharma, 24, of New Hyde Park, was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison for driving with almost three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system and crashing his vehicle into a concrete median at a high rate of speed killing one of his passengers and injuring three others.

“The defendant’s friends trusted him to get them home safely, but he did exactly the opposite,” said District Attorney Tierney. “The defendant’s actions amounted to a lethal cocktail of choices that altered many lives. He left a family without a son, brother, and loved one, and now he must bear the consequences of his criminal actions.”

According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on September 19, 2021, at approximately 3:42 a.m., Sharma was driving himself and multiple passengers home after a night of drinking. While getting onto the exit ramp for southbound Route 110 in East Farmingdale, Sharma drove at an excessive speed, failed to negotiate the turn on the ramp, blew through a stop sign, and crashed his vehicle head-on into a concrete median on Route 110. The front seat passenger, Brandon Nazirbage, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sharma’s three other passengers were transported to a local hospital for treatment of their injuries, one of which required surgery to repair broken bones in their legs.

An investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office led to the recovery of a blood sample that Sharma provided at the hospital when he was being treated for his injuries. An analysis of the blood sample revealed Sharma’s blood alcohol content was .22%, almost three times the legal limit. The blood sample also revealed the presence of THC, the active component of marijuana.  Additionally, an investigation of the crash showed that Sharma had been driving 76 mph on the ramp where the posted speed limit is 20 mph.

On October 26, 2022, Sharma pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard I. Horowitz, to the following charges:

• Two counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B felony;
• One count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;
• One count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony;
• Four counts of Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A misdemeanor;
• One count of Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of Drugs or of Alcohol and any Drugs or Drugs, an Unclassified misdemeanor; and
• Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, an Unclassified misdemeanor.

On April 27, 2023, Judge Horowitz ordered Sharma’s license revoked and sentenced him to serve four to 12 years in prison. Sharma was represented by Brian Griffin, Esq.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jacob Delauter of the Major Crime Bureau.

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Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments.

Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.

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