(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Travis Dickson, 32, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 4.5 to 13.5 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in February to driving his vehicle at an extremely high rate of speed on the Long Island Expressway and crashing into the back of another vehicle, killing a 9-year-old boy.
“As this case clearly illustrates, drunk and drug-impaired drivers are a danger to our communities and often times cause collisions which turn fatal for innocent victims,” said District Attorney Tierney. “A child lost their life because of the selfish actions of the defendant. I hope that this prison sentence brings some small degree of solace to the victim’s family who are undoubtedly still grieving his loss.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on August 22, 2022, at approximately 1:49 a.m., Dickson drove a 2018 BMW 540i westbound on the Long Island Expressway at 119 mph, while he was impaired by a combination of alcohol and marijuana. Dickson then struck the back of a 2019 Toyota Corolla, making no attempt to use the vehicle’s brakes prior to the impact. Inside the Toyota was a 9-year-old child restrained in a booster seat, and his father, the driver.
The child was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was listed in critical condition due to the injuries sustained from the crash. The victim’s father was also taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. On August 24, 2022, doctors declared the child brain-dead, and he was ultimately removed from life support after arrangements were made to donate his organs.
Following the crash, Dickson exhibited signs of intoxication, made admissions to smoking marijuana, and law enforcement found marijuana on his person. A sample of Dickson’s blood drawn approximately three hours after the crash revealed a blood alcohol concentration of .14% and the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. Law enforcement also determined that Dickson’s New York State driver’s license was revoked at the time he was driving the BMW.
On February 9, 2024, Dickson pleaded guilty to the following charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz:
- Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class D felony
- Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D felony
- Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A misdemeanor
- Driving While Intoxicated and Driving While Impaired by the Combined Influence of Alcohol and a Drug, an Unclassified misdemeanor
- Reckless Driving, an Unclassified misdemeanor
- Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree, an Unclassified misdemeanor
On April 5, 2024, Justice Horowitz sentenced Dickson to 4.5 to 13.5 years in prison. The People recommended that Dickson be sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under the law. Dickson was represented by Douglas Rankin, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys James Curtin and James Scahill of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Detective Juan Borbon of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Sixth Squad.