A Moriches man has been sentenced to prison for causing a drunken driving crash that killed a teenage passenger and seriously injured others, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.
Luis Gonzalo Barrionuevo Fuertes, 18, was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty in February 2026 to aggravated vehicular homicide and multiple related charges tied to the June 15, 2025 crash in East Hampton.
According to prosecutors, Barrionuevo Fuertes had been driving a 2009 Toyota Camry after consuming alcohol with a group of teenagers at a local beach on Father’s Day. The group, ranging in age from 15 to 19, crowded into the vehicle, with six passengers seated in the back.
At approximately 7:39 p.m., Barrionuevo Fuertes was traveling southbound on Old Stone Highway when he approached a curve at a high rate of speed. Authorities said he crossed into the opposite lane, nearly striking another vehicle, before losing control and crashing into a tree. The impact caused the car to roll onto its passenger side.
One of the rear-seat passengers, Scarleth Samaniego-Urgiles, 19, of East Hampton, was killed. Several others were transported to area hospitals. One passenger suffered a spinal fracture and severe lacerations to her hand, resulting in permanent disfigurement.
Investigators determined Barrionuevo Fuertes was driving 74 miles per hour in a 30-mph zone moments before the crash. A blood test later revealed his blood alcohol concentration was .08%.
“As this case clearly illustrates, drunk drivers are a danger to our communities,” Tierney said.
Barrionuevo Fuertes was sentenced March 18 by Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski. The case was prosecuted by the District Attorney’s Vehicular Crime Bureau with assistance from East Hampton Town Police.