Syosset Man Sentenced To 7 To 21 Years For Fatal DWI Crash: Nassau DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Syosset man has been sentenced to seven to 21 years in prison for a high-speed drunken crash that killed a married couple last summer, prosecutors said.

Sotirios Spanos, 33, pleaded guilty in April to aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault and driving while intoxicated, prosecutors added.

"Ismenia and Odalis Urena were a hard-working, successful couple, who had just enjoyed a well-deserved date night and were heading home to their two daughters. They tragically crossed this reckless defendant’s path as he drunkenly hurtled along Northern Boulevard at 100 miles per hour, veered into oncoming traffic and struck the Urenas’ vehicle head-on," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. "Sotirios Spanos only began to brake a second and a half before impact. He had been drinking for several hours before he made the decision to drive that cost the Urenas’ their lives."

Spanos' attorney Steven Epstein told Patch: "I was hoping [the judge] would give him less" of a sentence by taking his "character and conduct" into "full account."

Epstein added that his client has taken "full responsibility" for the "tragic accident."

August 12, 2023, at approximately 12:31 a.m., Odalis and Ismenia Urena, both 37, were traveling in a convertible heading westbound on Northern Boulevard approaching Moores Hill Road in Laurel Hollow, Donnelly said.

Spanos was twice the legal limit for alcohol more than three hours after the collision, the DA's office said.