Nassau Man Pleads Guilty To DWI Crash That Injured 3-Year-Old Girl

SYOSSET, NY — A Syosset man pleaded guilty today to driving drunk and injuring a man and his 3-year-old niece last May.

Varun Datt, 37, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault and aggravated driving while intoxicated. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 30, and is expected to be sentenced to three to nine years in prison.

“With empty alcohol bottles scattered about his vehicle — and another full bottle in his sweatshirt — this defendant jumped a curb in broad daylight while highly intoxicated, terrorizing a residential area and striking a man and 3-year-old child,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “Because of the male victim’s quick thinking to shield his young niece, she suffered only minor physical injuries. This case is another truly egregious example of the danger drunk driving poses to the safety of our communities.”

According to Donnelly, around 4:30 p.m. on May 31, 2021, Datt drove on the wrong side of a residential street in Syosset, where a man was standing with his 3-year-old niece. Datt, who was driving drunk, jumped the curb with his car and hit both of them. The car stopped after it hit a parked car head-on.

When police arrived, they found Datt still in the driver's seat of the vehicle, with empty bottles of rum and vodka in the car. There was also a full bottle of whiskey and two other empty bottles in his sweatshirt.

The man who was hit was taken to Nassau University Medical Center. He suffered many injuries, including a tear in his knee that required him to a use a wheelchair for six weeks.

The girl was taken to Cohen Children's Medical Center, where she was treated for some scrapes and trauma. The man shielded the girl and took most of the impact from the car.