Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced a Queens man was charged for a deadly crash on the Southern State Parkway that killed a man.
A Queens man was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and other drunk driving charges for a December 2025 crash on the Southern State Parkway that killed a 58-year-old man and seriously injured two others, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced on Tuesday, July 21.
Deodat Ramotar was arraigned Tuesday on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, three counts of vehicular assault, three counts of assault, driving while intoxicated, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving, the DA said. He pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on Sept. 2, Donnelly said. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.
On Dec. 14, 2025, Ramotar was allegedly driving a 2012 black Hyundai Sonata westbound along the Southern State Parkway in Elmont during a snowstorm, with 58-year-old Ramash Boodnie and three other passengers in the car, Donnelly said.
As Ramotar was approaching an exit for the Belt Parkway, he allegedly began swerving on the road at a high rate of speed, spun out in the snow, and struck a tree on the north shoulder of the parkway, the DA said.
All three backseat passengers were ejected from the car and Boodnie was killed instantly, she said.
The other backseat passengers suffered severe injuries while Ramotar and the front-seat passenger were unharmed, Donnelly said.
Ramotar’s blood taken roughly two hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol concentration of allegedly .09%, DA said.