Driver In Fatal Flanders Crash Sentenced

Santiago Monzon-Archila, 40, of Riverhead had nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood when at approximately 5 a.m. on December 17 he lost control of his vehicle on Flanders Road in Flanders. His passenger, Edis Noe Hernandez Nunez, 36, of Riverside was ejected and later pronounced dead at Peconic Bay Medical Center.

Monzon-Archila pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, a felony, in June, and this week Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced that he was sentenced to two and three-quarters to eight and a quarter years in prison, with additional concurrent sentences of one to three years for second-degree vehicular manslaughter, also a felony, plus six months for misdemeanor DWI.

Monzon-Archila admitted he and his passenger had been drinking since 7 p.m. the previous night when the fatal crash occurred. As the sun rose, his Toyota piled through an iron fence, into a parked truck and through another fence. Airborne by then, the vehicle flew into a house.

Southampton Town Police estimated it hit the house some 10 feet in the air, then flipped, trapping Monzon-Archila inside. Police found beer cans at the scene, and when Monzon-Archila’s blood was tested an hour later at the hospital, one hour after the crash, the analysis revealed a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent, nearly twice the legal limit.

This case was heard before Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz.

Announcing the sentence, Tierney said via press release: “This victim’s life was cut short due to this defendant’s decisions, which evinced a total disregard for the safety and well-being of his passenger and other motorists. We will continue to crack down on drivers who choose to endanger the citizens of Suffolk County on our roads.”