'Irresponsible Drinking' Leads To 7-15 Yr. Prison Sentence: Nassau DA

MINEOLA, NY — A Wantagh man has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for fatally striking a man in parking lot of On Parade Diner in 2023, prosecutors said.

William Specht, 63, pleaded guilty on August 26 to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree assault and aggravated driving while intoxicated.

The sentence is seven to 15 years in prison.

“In the middle of the afternoon on January 18, 2023, Willem Specht got behind the wheel of his car more than twice the legal limit for alcohol, put it in reverse, and mowed down 61-year-old grandfather Joseph Devito," said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. "During the course of this prosecution and against court orders, Specht continued to drink brazenly and publicly. Surveillance video even captured the defendant entering his local liquor store, buying a bottle of vodka, and uncapping it right in the parking lot at the same time he was scheduled and failed to appear for a court date in Joseph Devito’s tragic death."

Devito suffered catastrophic head injuries and died shortly afterwards at Syosset Hospital.

After hitting Devito, the Specht continued to drive his 2004 Infiniti G35 in reverse and drove over another sidewalk, striking a ramp and a metal fence leading into the diner. He continued in reverse and struck the exterior wall of the diner, Donnelly said.

Specht then drove forward and stopped his car in a parking spot in the direction where he originally came from. He exited his car, stood in the diner’s parking lot for a short period of time, and then attempted to leave the scene but was stopped by a witness.

"Specht’s irresponsible drinking and reckless choices robbed the Devito family of a husband and father’s supportive presence," Donnelly said. "I hope that this defendant uses his significant prison sentence to reflect on the heartbreak that he has caused."