NCDA: Florida Man Gets 10 Years For Driving High, Killing Cyclist

WESTBURY, NY — A Florida man was sentenced on Friday to a decade in prison for driving a utilty truck while high last year, leaving a path of destruction in his wake that included the death of a bicyclist.

Matthew Mummaw, 34, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced to 3 1/2 to 10 years in prison. In August 2020, Mummaw was driving a utility truck in Uniondale while high on multiple drugs when he hit and killed a bicyclist.

On Oct. 29, Mummaw pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident resulting in death, second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault, driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs and leaving the scene of an incident resulting in property damage.

“High on a combination of meth, amphetamines and fentanyl, this defendant got behind the wheel of a utility truck and left in his wake a trail of death and destruction, crashing into multiple vehicles, injuring drivers and tragically killing 38-year-old Erik Canales as he rode home from work on his bicycle,” said Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith. “People should be able to trust that when they are on our sidewalks and our roadways that they will make it home again. By taking reckless, dangerous drivers like Mummaw off the roads and holding them accountable for their crimes, we can keep Nassau County’s roads safe for all who travel them.”

According to Joyce, Mummaw was in Nassau County working for Heart Utilities of Jacksonville. He was being paid to repair power lines that were damaged by Hurricane Isaias.

On Aug. 14, 2020, Mummaw met other members of his crew at the parking lot of Dave and Busters in Westbury to see if they had work for the day. High on a combination of drugs, Mummaw drove out of the parking lot onto Merchant's Concourse. At the intersection of Merchant's Concourse and Corporate Drive, Mummaw drove through a red lit and multiple stopped vehicles, between lanes of traffic and through the intersection while the light was still red. He hit five cars and caused property damage.

He kept driving on Merchant's Concourse and veered off the road and onto the sidwalk near the overpass for the Meadowbrook State Parkway. He hit 38-year-old Erik Canales, who was riding his bicycle home from work. Canales was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mummaw kept going, finally stopping when he crashed head-on into a delivery truck and then a pickup truck on Stewart Avenue.

He got out of his car and began to assault the driver of the delivery truck, punching him until he was pulled away by police and bystanders. Both the drivers of the pickup and delivery trucks suffered injuries from the crash.