An 18-year-old from Moriches has pleaded guilty in a Father’s Day crash in East Hampton that killed 19-year-old passenger Scarleth Samaniego-Urgiles. On Wednesday, Luis Gonzalo Barrionuevo Fuertes admitted to aggravated vehicular homicide and related charges. Prosecutors said he acknowledged driving under the influence and speeding when his 2009 Toyota Camry left Old Stone Highway and struck a tree. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on March 18, facing a potential 4 to 12 years in state prison.
What He Admitted In Court
During a Feb. 11 court appearance, Barrionuevo Fuertes formally pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide along with several related felony counts in connection with the fatal crash. LongIsland.com reported that the plea was entered during an allocution before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski, where the teen acknowledged the conduct that led to Samaniego-Urgiles’s death.
How The Crash Unfolded
Prosecutors say the deadly collision took place on June 15, 2025, after Barrionuevo Fuertes and a group of teenagers spent time drinking at a beach in East Hampton, then squeezed seven people into his Camry for the ride back. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, data from the car’s event recorder later showed the vehicle barreling along at roughly 74 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone just seconds before it left Old Stone Highway and hit a tree. A chemical test taken afterward put Barrionuevo Fuertes’s blood-alcohol content at 0.08 percent, prosecutors said. Samaniego-Urgiles, riding in the rear seat, was killed, and another passenger suffered a spinal fracture and severe hand injuries.
Court Timeline And Defense Reaction
Barrionuevo Fuertes is represented by defense attorney Melissa Aguanno and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18. Aguanno told reporters the case has been “probably the most difficult” of her career and said her client is devastated by the outcome of that night. Patch noted that under the plea agreement he faces 4 to 12 years in prison at sentencing. The matter is being prosecuted by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Vehicular Crime Bureau.
Community Response And The Victim
Samaniego-Urgiles, a junior at East Hampton High School, quickly became the emotional center of the case for a town struggling to process the loss. Family members and classmates remembered her as a teenager who dreamed of joining the Army and lifting up her loved ones, and makeshift memorials appeared at the crash site in the days after her death. The East Hampton Star chronicled the outpouring of grief and the GoFundMe effort launched by her mother to cover funeral expenses. With the guilty plea now entered, the legal case moves toward sentencing while the community’s mourning continues.
Legal Context
The charges Barrionuevo Fuertes admitted to include serious Class B and Class C felonies, which carry significant prison exposure under New York law. Before the plea deal, the indictment on the top count had left him facing the possibility of even more substantial “upstate time” if convicted at trial. According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, victim-impact statements and formal sentencing arguments are expected when he appears in court again on March 18.
