(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that defendant Robert Hengeveld was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of 4 to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in June to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide.
“A young man’s life was cut short because of this defendant’s reckless criminal conduct,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This sentence will help to protect the public and hopefully give the victim’s family a small measure of closure.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s statements, on October 19, 2021 at approximately 11:42 p.m., Hengeveld, aged 51, drove a stolen 2004 Toyota Tacoma through a red light at the intersection of County Road 83 and the Long Island Expressway South Service Road which resulted in him crashing into a 1999 Honda Civic driven by 19-year-old Starlin Diaz Felipe killing him instantly. Hengeveld also had a passenger in the vehicle who was ejected and suffered serious physical injury, namely a brain bleed and a broken jaw. The crash was the culmination of an 11-minute pursuit that Hengeveld led Suffolk County Police on after he sped away from a traffic stop. The defendant went through multiple red lights, went over double yellow lines and sped at high rates of speed. The vehicle Hengeveld was driving had been reported stolen and the license plate that was affixed to the vehicle was also reported stolen. The defendant later indicated that he had smoked crack cocaine prior to the accident. Hengeveld was arrested on October 19, 2021.
In addition to pleading guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B Felony, Hengeveld also pled guilty to the following charges:
• 1 count of Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle in the First Degree (Class D Felony);
• 1 count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree (Class E Felony);
• 1 count of Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs; and
• 1 count of Reckless Driving.
He was sentenced today before the Honorable Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro and was represented by Oscar Christafio of the Legal Aid Society.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Daniel P. Cronin, Jr., of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.