Man Pleads Guilty To DWI Crash That Killed 3 After Sweet 16: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Freeport man pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide stemming from a high-speed, drunken crash that killed three people in 2022, prosecutors said.

Dante Lennon, 23, also pleaded guilty on Tuesday to second-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault, three counts of third-degree assault and driving while intoxicated, prosecutors said.

"A Sweet 16 party should be a cherished memory for family, but because of this defendant’s reckless and callous disregard for other motorists, it will instead be remembered as an unbelievable tragedy," said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. "In an instant, three family members were lost and another three injured when Dante Lennon, drunk and speeding, barreled into their Town Car.

On the evening of May 21, 2022, Lennon was driving a Mercedes Benz at a high rate of speed, approximately twice the 35-mile-per-hour speed limit, while intoxicated on Jericho Turnpike in New Hyde Park, Donnelly said.

As he drove eastbound, Lennon broadsided a Lincoln Town Car and rear-ended a parked Ram pickup truck. The force of the impact killed Marlene Luu, 66; Hoa Ho, 68; and Tu Nguyen, 41, relatives of the girl whose party they were celebrating. The crash also injured three men in the car, ages 72, 42, and 67, Donnelly said.

Lennon is due back in court on June 5, and is expected to be sentenced to six to 18 years in prison, the D.A.'s office said.

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