MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Long Beach man who drove drunk and killed his passenger in a high-speed crash has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced today.
Christhian Velasquez Galeano, 28, pleaded guilty before Judge Caryn Fink to Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree, Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol, Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, False Personation, and Circumvention of an Interlock Device.
Velasquez Galeano is expected to receive the maximum sentence of 9 5/6 to 22 years in prison at his sentencing on July 30, 2025.
“This defendant put the safety of other motorists at risk… and like a coward, fled the scene after he crashed, leaving his friend for dead,” said DA Donnelly. “He is a recidivist offender with a blatant disregard for the law.”
The crash occurred on February 9, 2025, at around 4:47 a.m. Velasquez Galeano was driving intoxicated with two passengers eastbound on Stewart Avenue in Garden City when he veered into oncoming traffic and crashed into a tree on the westbound shoulder.
Following the crash, Velasquez Galeano and the front seat passenger fled the scene on foot, leaving Marco Zuniga, 27, unresponsive in the backseat. He was later pronounced dead at NYU Langone Long Island Hospital at 5:43 a.m.
Officers from the Garden City Police Department tracked footprints in the snow to 118 Nassau Boulevard, where they found Velasquez Galeano and his companion hiding in the bushes. Velasquez Galeano had blood on his hands and showed signs of intoxication. A court-ordered blood test revealed a .11% BAC nearly four hours after the crash.
Investigators also found two unopened beer bottles in the back seat of the wrecked vehicle. This is Velasquez Galeano’s third DWI conviction in the past decade.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Katie Zizza of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau, under Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and Executive ADA Kevin Higgins. The defendant is represented by Robert Schalk, Esq.
