A Brooklyn man who was drunk, high, and driving at speeds of up to 119 mph when he crashed into the back of a car, killing a 9-year-old kid, will face up to 13.5 years in jail, according to officials.
Travis Dickson was driving his 2018 BMW 540i west on the Long Island Expressway in Farmingville around 1:49 a.m. on August 22 when he collided with the back of a 2019 Toyota Corolla and made no attempt to halt, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a press release.
Angel Salas, of Deer Park, was in a booster seat in the back of the vehicle as his father drove.
Officials reported that Angel suffered severe injuries.
“As this case clearly illustrates, drunk and drug-impaired drivers are a danger to our communities and oftentimes cause collisions that turn fatal for innocent victims,” Tierney said in a statement.
“A child died as a result of the defendant’s selfish actions.” I hope that this prison sentence provides some relief to the victim’s family, who are probably still grieving his death.”
Dickson, 32, pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced on Friday.
They took the infant to Stony Brook University Hospital, but two days later they declared him brain dead.
Officials eventually removed him from life support and donated his organs to others.
Dickson showed signs of intoxication following the incident, admitting to consuming marijuana and having it on him, according to authorities.
His blood was drawn roughly three hours after the incident and showed a 14.4% alcohol level, according to investigators.
The legal limit for driving is 0.08 percent.
Dickson, who was also driving with a revoked license, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the second degree and vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, officials said.
