A 26-year-old Medford man pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and eight other counts stemming from a drunken-driving crash that killed his 22-year-old passenger and injured two others, after prosecutors said his BMW hit 117 mph in a 30-mph zone just before impact. Jefry Valdez Cruz admitted guilt before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz on Friday to all nine counts of the indictment tied to the Oct. 6, 2025, crash on Bellport Avenue in Medford.
According to TBR News Media, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the plea, which covers aggravated vehicular homicide, a class B felony; manslaughter in the second degree, a class C felony; vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, a class D felony; assault in the second degree, a class D felony; vehicular assault in the second degree, a class E felony; assault in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor; two counts of driving while intoxicated; and reckless driving. Under New York State law, aggravated vehicular homicide carries the weight of a class B felony, the most serious charge in the indictment.
Court documents and the plea allocution, as reported by greaterlongisland.com, describe how Valdez Cruz and three others left a barbecue where he had been drinking before he got behind the wheel of his BMW at around 2:53 a.m. He was speeding south on Bellport Avenue between Long Island Avenue and Horseblock Road when he crossed into the northbound lane and slammed into trees on the opposite side of the road.
Passenger Ejected, Two Others Hospitalized
Edgar Guevara Ramos, the 22-year-old passenger, was ejected from the vehicle upon impact and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, with at least one sustaining serious physical injuries, the same outlet's report notes.
The BMW's event data recorder showed the car traveling 117 mph about three seconds before impact in a stretch posted at 30 mph. A hospital blood draw found Valdez Cruz's blood alcohol content at 0.14%, nearly double the legal limit of 0.08%.
DA Tierney: 'A Young Passenger Paid for That Gamble With His Life'
“Every person who drinks and drives takes the same gamble that this defendant took,” Tierney said, according to the district attorney's announcement carried by TBR News Media. “A young passenger paid for that gamble with his life,” he added, saying his office “remains committed to holding impaired drivers accountable.”
Valdez Cruz is expected to be sentenced to four to 12 years in prison when he returns to court Dec. 2. He is represented by Vincent Bianco, Esq., and the case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Emma Richards and Jeffrey Rosenheck of the Vehicular Crime Bureau. Detective Katherine Kreuder of the Suffolk County Police Department's Fifth Squad conducted the investigation.
Because Valdez Cruz is a citizen of El Salvador, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer to take him into custody once he completes his sentence, per the report from greaterlongisland.com.
Part of a Wider Pattern on Suffolk's Roads
The crash lands amid years of grim traffic statistics for Suffolk County. The county recorded 155 traffic deaths in 2023, the highest total of any county in New York State, and its 2023 fatality rate of 10.2 deaths per 100,000 residents was the highest among the state's 20 most populous counties, according to Newsday. About 41% of the county's 695 traffic fatalities between 2019 and 2023 involved substance-related drivers, and roughly 29% were tied to speeding in 2023 alone.
Suffolk County police have ramped up enforcement in response. Officers issued around 76,150 tickets for speeding, aggressive driving, impaired driving, distracted driving and seat-belt violations in 2025, a 26% jump from 2024 and more than in any year over the previous decade, Newsday reported separately. The department also created a Street Takeover Task Force last year to crack down on street racing, and crash fatalities within its jurisdiction fell to 88 in 2025, the lowest count since 2020.
Similar cases have surfaced elsewhere on Long Island. In Nassau County, Nina Varrino pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree assault and driving while ability impaired by drugs after prosecutors said she was under the combined influence of cocaine and Xanax when she crashed into a motorcycle in North Hills on July 12, 2025, killing 58-year-old Lisa Pelaez and seriously injuring her husband, George Pelaez, according to the Nassau County District Attorney's Office.
