ALERT: Drunk driver who dangled his keys as people begged him not to drive, and then he killed a beloved cop, pleads guilty in New York court.
Matthew Smith, 21, was binge drinking at the James Joyce bar in Patchogue, and bar patrons begged him not to drive before he got behind the wheel.
Smith, who was 20 at the time, then ran through a red light, going 70 MPH in a 30 MPH speed limit street, smashing Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa’s, 42, car, causing it to flip.
First responders desperately tried freeing Espinosa, who was dangling upside down, for more than 30 minutes after the crash.
Smith’s blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was a .20, almost 3 times the legal limit of .08, and a bottle of rum and a shot glass were found in Smith’s car.
Suffolk DA Ray Tierney said, “Patricia Espinosa, a wife and mother who dedicated her life to protecting others, was killed on her way to work, leaving her daughter without a mother, her husband without a wife, and a family without their beloved daughter and sister.”
Smith pleaded guilty to the murder and will face up to 22 years in prison, followed by 3 years of post-release supervision.
Espinosa's family received a $188,000 donation from over 300 local pizzerias to help her now-widowed husband, Francisco Malaga, and their 2-year-old daughter, Mia.