(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Luis Gonzalo Barrionuevo Fuertes, 18, of Moriches, was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to Aggravated Vehicular Homicide and other related charges, for driving while intoxicated and crashing a 2009 Toyota Camry into a tree on Old Stone Highway in East Hampton. The crash killed Scarleth Samaniego-Urgiles, 19, of East Hampton, who was sitting in the back seat, and seriously injured another passenger.
“As this case clearly illustrates, drunk drivers are a danger to our communities,” said District Attorney Tierney. “A young woman lost her 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 this senseless loss.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on Father’s Day, June 15, 2025, Barrionuevo Fuertes drove a group of seven teenagers in his 2009 Toyota Camry to a local beach in East Hampton. There, Barrionuevo Fuertes and the teenagers, whose ages ranged from 15 to 19 years old, consumed alcohol. The group then left the beach and Barrionuevo Fuertes drove them in his 2009 Toyota Camry. Six people, including a 15-year-old, were all passengers in the back seat.
At approximately 7:39 p.m., as Barrionuevo Fuertes drove the Camry southbound on Old Stone Highway, he approached a curve in the road at a high rate of speed and drove into the opposite lane where he nearly struck an oncoming vehicle. Barrionuevo Fuertes then drove off the roadway and crashed into a tree, causing the vehicle to roll onto its passenger side. One of the rear-seat passengers, Scarleth Samaniego-Urgiles, was killed. The remaining passengers were transported to local hospitals for medical treatment, with one rear passenger suffering a spinal fracture and severe lacerations to her hand that resulted in significant disfigurement.
Responding police officers saw that Barrionuevo Fuertes was exhibiting signs of intoxication and placed him under arrest. Barrionuevo Fuertes consented to a chemical test of his blood which revealed that he had a .08% blood alcohol concentration. An analysis of the event data recorder from the car that Barrionuevo Fuertes was driving revealed that seconds before the crash, he was driving 74 mph in a 30-mph posted zone.
On February 11, 2026, Barrionuevo Fuertes pleaded guilty to the following charges before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski:
· One count of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, a Class B felony;
· One count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;
· One count of Aggravated Vehicular Assault, a Class C felony;
· One count of Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class D felony;
· Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies;
· One count of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, a Class D felony;
· Two counts of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree, Class E felonies;
· One Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child, a Class E felony;
· Two counts of Driving While Intoxicated, Unclassified misdemeanors;
· Three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, Class A misdemeanors;
· One count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a Class A misdemeanor;
· One count of Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, and Class A misdemeanor;
· One count of Reckless Driving, an Unclassified Misdemeanor; and
· One count of Speeding, an infraction.
On March 18, 2026, Justice Pilewski sentenced Barrionuevo Fuertes to four to 12 years in prison. He was represented by Melissa Aguanno, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bopp of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Coleman of the East Hampton Town Police Department.
