Commack Woman Was Not Driving In Deadly Bay Shore Crash, Cops Now Say

BAY SHORE, NY — A 19-year-old who was believed to be the driver in a fatal car crash on Robert Moses Parkway in September is now identified as the passenger, New York state police said.

Around 4:30 a.m. on Sept. 18, Jhonny Chavarria-Argueta, 20, of Bay Shore, drove a rented 2022 Hyundai Santa Fe while intoxicated by alcohol, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney's office said on Wednesday. Jessica Gonzalez, of Commack, was a passenger in the car.

Chavarria-Argueta drove eastbound on the Southern State Parkway, near the Robert Moses Causeway, at an extremely high rate of speed when he lost control of the vehicle and smashed into the median guardrail, prosecutors said.

The vehicle flipped multiple times and came to a rest on its nose against the causeway overpass.
Jessica Gonzalez, 19, was a passenger in the front seat and was thrown from the vehicle.

She died from her injuries.

A statement from New York state police originally said that Gonzalez was the driver. After an investigation, detectives determined that Chavarria-Argueta climbed out of the vehicle and fled the scene, authorities said.

State police announced their correction on their website on Wednesday evening.

Chavarria-Argueta is charged with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, driving while intoxicated, second-degree reckless endangerment, and reckless driving.

He is due back in court on Dec. 20.