A Queens man was indicted on elevated charges of manslaughter after Nassau prosecutors said he fell asleep on prescription drugs and illegal pills and jumped a curb, killing a Nassau police crossing guard in February in Merrick.
Joshua Alvarado, 30, was indicted on Friday on six charges including manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and three counts of driving while ability impaired by drugs.
He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and was ordered remanded to in jail without bail.
His attorney declined to comment.
Alvarado is charged in the Feb. 26 crash when his Toyota pickup jumped a curb at 8 a.m. on Sunrise Highway at Merrick Avenue, striking crossing guard John Miro, 70, of Massapequa, who was shoveling snow and helping young children cross the street.
Alvarado was initially charged with assault and drugged driving following the crash before Miro died.
Miro broke his hip, fractured his skull and suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung. He died from his injuries about a week later in the intensive care unit at Nassau University Medical Center.
Prosecutors said a blood test showed Alvarado had several central nervous system depressants in his system, including Xanax, clonazepam, known as Klonopin, and the illegal drug known as “street Xanax.”
Prosecutors said on Tuesday that Alvarado was not under a prescription for Xanax or other drugs and a month earlier had been prescribed a drug withdrawal medication, Suboxone. He also was given the drug while experiencing withdrawal symptoms in the Nassau County jail.
“What our investigation has revealed was that this defendant allegedly drove with a dangerous cocktail of powerful sedatives and antidepressants in his system,” Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said on Tuesday.
Donnelly said Alvarado was driving his work truck to a call as an exterminator and he fell asleep at a red light. Witnesses said he was jolted awake when a car honked behind him, causing him to jump the curb, striking Miro was standing on the sidewalk.
His attorney previously said Alvarado was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after he was the victim of an assault and took the medication the night before. He said Alvarado hit a patch of ice on Sunrise Highway and lost control.
Donnelly said Alvarado chose to take drugs before driving to work and “this crash was not an accident, it was inevitable.”
“When you take drugs and get behind the wheel of a car, you are not just a driver anymore. You are a moving threat to every pedestrian, bicyclist and driver around you, these actions have deadly consequences that are entirely preventable,” Donnelly said.
If convicted, Alvarado faces up to 15 years in prison.
Newsday’s Janon Fisher contributed to this story.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.