Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced a Valley Stream man pleaded guilty today to Manslaughter and other charges for a 2022 drunk-driving crash on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway that killed his 23-year-old half-brother.
Joshua Pena, 25, pleaded guilty before Judge Teresa Corrigan to Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a C felony), Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony), Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a D felony), two counts of Driving While Intoxicated (unclassified misdemeanors), Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree (an A misdemeanor), Reckless Driving (an unclassified misdemeanor), and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree (an unclassified misdemeanor).
He is due back in court on April 3, 2025, and is expected to be sentenced to 3-1/2 to 8-1/4 years in prison. NCDA recommended a sentence of 6 to 12 years in prison.
“Joshua Pena was racing down the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway at 127 miles an hour and more than twice the legal limit for alcohol when he careened into a guardrail and smashed into a tree, helplessly pinning his half-brother inside the car,” said DA Donnelly. “Xavier Pena was just 23 years old when his life was taken by the reckless actions of this defendant – his own flesh and blood. Now after this tragic and avoidable crash, one brother will never return home and the other will be confined to a prison cell for years to come. Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family during this difficult time.”
DA Donnelly said that on June 19, 2022, at approximately 7:45 a.m., an off-duty East Meadow Fire Department official was driving southbound on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway towards exit 1E when he saw a white 2018 Mercedes on top of the guardrail, leaning against a tree.
When he approached the vehicle, he saw the victim, 23-year-old Xavier Pena, conscious and pinned inside the vehicle and radioed for help. The defendant, Joshua Pena, the victim’s half-brother, was seen walking near brush west of the vehicle.
NCPD Emergency Services Unit and members of the Wantagh Fire Department assisted in removing the victim from the vehicle. He was transported to Nassau University Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased at 8:43 a.m.
The defendant was also transported to NUMC where a blood draw determined he had a blood alcohol content of .17 approximately forty-five minutes after the crash.
The data from the vehicle’s crash data recorder also revealed that shortly before the collision, the defendant was driving approximately 127 mph.
Joshua Pena’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle in New York was suspended at the time of the crash for failure to answer summonses in Queens County.
The defendant surrendered to the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad on January 23, 2023.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tara DePalo of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. The defendant is represented by Steven Epstein, Esq.