(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Matthew Sheehy, 48, of East Setauket, pleaded guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Assault and other related charges, for causing a three-vehicle crash while speeding, intoxicated, and impaired by drugs. The crash resulted in injuries to four people, including one victim’s skull fracture and permanent loss of eyesight in one of her eyes.
“A woman lost sight in one of her eyes and could easily have died because this defendant selfishly chose to drive like a maniac on the Long Island Expressway that night,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This guilty plea is an important step toward justice for this woman and the three others who were injured.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on November 15, 2024, at approximately 12:21 a.m., Sheehy was driving his 2022 Ram pick-up truck eastbound on the Long Island Expressway at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of lanes. Sheehy veered into the right shoulder between Exits 62 and 63 and crashed into a disabled 2010 Chrysler Town & Country minivan that had one occupant inside.
The Chrysler was propelled into the expressway’s left travel lane, where it was then struck by a 2018 Honda CR-V carrying three occupants. One passenger in the CR-V sustained serious injuries, including a skull fracture, a brain bleed, and the permanent loss of eyesight in one eye. The remaining occupants inside the CR-V and Chrysler also sustained injuries requiring medical treatment.
Sheehy was transported to a hospital where he was arrested after it was determined that he was intoxicated by alcohol and impaired by drugs.
On May 20, 2026, Sheehy pleaded guilty to the following charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Philip Goglas:
- One count of Aggravated Vehicular Assault, a Class C felony;
- One count of Driving While Intoxicated, a Class E felony; and
- Three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, Class A misdemeanors.
Sheehy is due back in court on June 30, 2026, and is expected to be sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison. He is being represented by Michael Brown, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jeffrey Rosenheck and Raymond Varuolo of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Joseph Bianco of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Major Case Unit.
