A Long Island man was sentenced Monday to 6-12 years in prison for killing a 6-year-old girl while driving drunk last year.
Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, 19, had admitted to killing Katerine Vanegas Hernandez on Aug. 7, 2023. She was just two days away from her 7th birthday.
“This defendant, driving drunk and recklessly on Hempstead Turnpike, stole young Katerine’s life when he struck her mother’s car and tore apart this close and loving family,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.
Gutierrez was behind the wheel of a Nissan Pathfinder speeding down Hempstead Turnpike around 2:20 a.m. on the day of the accident, according to prosecutors. Hernandez was in the back seat of a Toyota Corolla that was stopped on the right side of the road with its hazard lights on.
As Gutierrez sped through a red light, he slammed into the back of the Corolla, sending it off the road and into a tree while his own vehicle careened off course and flipped multiple times.
Hernandez was pronounced dead at NYU Langone Long Island Hospital hours after the crash. Her 5-year-old brother suffered a fractured spine, and the Corolla driver broke multiple ribs.
Gutierrez pleaded guilty in June to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault and driving while intoxicated.
“Katerine’s loss — so senselessly and tragically at the hands of a drunk driver — is unfathomable,” Donnelly said. “Our thoughts remain with her mother and brother as they continue to mourn.”
