Far Rockaway Man Gets 2 to 6 Years for Fatal DWI Crash

A Far Rockaway man whose drunken driving resulted in a fatal crash near the Lawrence-Cedarhurst border was sentenced to two to six years in prison, the Nassau County district attorney announced on Wednesday.

Gehlert Barrios, 21, of Far Rockaway, was driving his Nissan at a high rate of speed on Rockaway Turnpike near Rugby Road on Jan. 30 at about 4:30 a.m. when he crashed into a Ford van that had slowed to make a right turn in front of him, according to the DA's office. Barrios' friend and rear-seat passenger, Anthony Morales, 30, also of Far Rockaway, died from the impact.

"This easily preventable tragedy could have been avoided if the defendant had simply called a cab or given his keys to a sober driver," Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said. "But instead, he recklessly chose to get behind the wheel and killed an innocent man."

The front seat passenger in Barrios' car and the driver of the van both suffered neck and back injuries, the DA's office said. Four hours after the crash, Barrios' blood-alcohol content was .09 percent.

"Under the circumstances and the potential exposure and charges that we had, it was definitely a favorable sentence," said Barrios' attorney, Deron Castro. Castro added about his client, "He apologized to the family of the deceased as well as mentioning that he lost a good friend of his as a result of the accident."

Barrios had pled guilty to the top count of manslaughter in the second degree, driving while intoxicated and two misdemeanor counts of assault in the third degree. He was handed the sentence by Judge Susan Kluewer.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Dec. 5 with a quote from Barrios' attorney.