Driver Charged For High-Speed SSP Crash That Killed Sister: DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Queens man has been indicted for a high-speed crash on the Southern State Parkway that killed sister and another passenger in January, prosecutors said.

Jaden D’Souza, 20, was arraigned Wednesday on charges that include aggravated vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault, driving while ability impaired by drugs and reckless driving, Nassau County D.A. Anne Donnelly said.

His bail was continued at $500,000 bond. He is due back in court on June 2.

“Jaden D’Souza was allegedly high on marijuana, zipping through traffic, and flooring the gas when he lost control and flipped his car into a tree on the shoulder of the Southern State Parkway,” said Donnelly. “The impact from the horrific crash violently ejected Crystal Alba-Figueroa from the vehicle and trapped the defendant’s 21-year-old sister Haily in the backseat, killing them both. The defendant’s front seat passenger barely made it out of the crash alive, with significant physical injuries and brain trauma. Evidence of the defendant’s alleged drug use, including numerous packages of THC-infused products, were found in the vehicle and scattered around the debris field."

On the night of January 12, D'Souza was driving a 2016 Dodge Dart eastbound on the Southern State Parkway near Exit 30, with his sister, 21-year-old Haily D’Souza and 23-year-old Crystal Alba-Figueroa in the backseat. A 23-year-old male passenger was in the front seat, Donnelly said.

D'Souza was allegedly traveling in and out of lanes at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the vehicle, drove off the road, and crashed into a tree on the grassy shoulder. The vehicle came to rest upside down on the shoulder, prosecutors said.

During the crash, a spare tire became dislodged from the D'Souza's vehicle and struck another vehicle traveling eastbound on the Southern State Parkway, causing that vehicle to crash into a guardrail, injuring the driver, Donnelly said.

A search warrant for D'Souza's hospital blood taken the evening of the crash revealed the sample contained a high level of the active and impairing component of cannabis. The event data recorder inside his vehicle showed D'Souza was allegedly driving 123 miles per hour when he lost control of the vehicle, Donnelly said.

Patch attempted to get a comment from D'Souza's attorney Donald Rollock.

"Driving high is driving impaired. It is never a safe choice, and it can have catastrophic, heartbreaking consequences," Donnelly said.

If convicted, D'Souza faces up to 8-1/3 to 25 years in prison.