Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A drunk and drugged driver from East Setauket admitted in court Wednesday, May 20, 2026, to triggering a devastating three-car crash on the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville that permanently blinded a woman in one eye and fractured her skull — injuries so severe that Suffolk County’s top prosecutor said she “could easily have died,” according to Patchogue-Medford Daily Voice.
The incident unfolded around 12:20 a.m. on Friday, November 15, 2024, when Matthew Sheehy was weaving recklessly through traffic on the LIE while behind the wheel of a 2022 Ram pickup truck, prosecutors said. Sheehy, a resident of East Setauket in Suffolk County, was traveling through the Holtsville stretch of the expressway when he veered onto the right shoulder — setting off a catastrophic chain of events that would leave multiple people hospitalized with serious injuries.
After leaving the travel lanes and striking the shoulder, Sheehy’s Ram slammed into a disabled 2010 Chrysler minivan that was stopped on the right side of the road, according to investigators. The force of the impact sent the minivan careening violently across active lanes of traffic, where it collided with a 2018 Honda CR-V that had been traveling in the flow of the expressway. The sole occupant of the Chrysler minivan suffered serious injuries in the collision, as reported by Patchogue-Medford Daily Voice.
The consequences for those inside the CR-V were particularly devastating. A passenger in the vehicle suffered a skull fracture, a brain bleed, and the permanent loss of eyesight in one eye — injuries that authorities describe as life-altering and potentially fatal. The driver of the CR-V and a second passenger also sustained serious injuries in the crash, prosecutors said. In total, four people beyond Sheehy himself were seriously hurt as a direct result of his conduct that night.
Sheehy himself was hospitalized following the wreck. Investigators who responded to the scene determined that he was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said. He was subsequently charged with multiple felonies and misdemeanors tied to the incident.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney did not mince words when describing Sheehy’s conduct in the hours before dawn on that November night. “The victim could easily have died because this defendant selfishly chose to drive like a maniac on the Long Island Expressway that night,” Tierney said in a statement, as reported by Patchogue-Medford Daily Voice. The photo of Sheehy used in the District Attorney’s release was credited to Suffolk County District Attorney investigator Joe Wilkinson.
Location & Road Context
The crash took place on Interstate 495 — the Long Island Expressway through the hamlet of Holtsville in Suffolk County, one of Long Island’s highest-volume and most dangerous corridors. The LIE stretches the full east-west length of Long Island and serves as the primary artery for both commuter and commercial traffic across Nassau and Suffolk Counties, carrying hundreds of thousands of vehicles daily. Late-night driving conditions on the expressway, particularly in the overnight hours when Sheehy was traveling, are frequently associated with impaired and erratic driving.
Our database shows that I-495 has logged 753 recorded incidents, making it one of the most crash-prone roads tracked by Long Island Traffic. In just the week of this guilty plea, the expressway has seen multiple serious events including a major multi-vehicle crash with injuries on May 15 and a dramatic sinkhole that nearly swallowed a car whole, also on May 15. The presence of a disabled vehicle on the shoulder — as was the case with the Chrysler minivan that Sheehy struck — is a recognized danger on high-speed limited-access highways, where approaching drivers may not see stopped vehicles until it is too late.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Matthew Sheehy entered guilty pleas on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 — approximately 18 months after the crash — to a slate of serious charges, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular assault, driving while intoxicated (DWI), and three counts of third-degree assault, the latter counts corresponding to the injuries suffered by the multiple victims in the crash.
His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at which point a judge will determine the punishment Sheehy faces for the crimes he admitted to committing. Aggravated vehicular assault is a serious felony under New York State law, typically applicable in cases where a driver’s impairment or reckless conduct results in serious physical injury — criteria that the facts of this case plainly satisfy. The three separate assault counts reflect the serious injuries suffered by the CR-V’s driver, the CR-V’s second passenger, and the sole occupant of the Chrysler minivan. Prosecutors in DA Tierney’s office have not yet publicly indicated what sentence they intend to seek at the June 30 hearing.
Broader Impact
In New York, a conviction for aggravated vehicular assault — the top charge Sheehy pleaded guilty to — is a Class C felony that carries a potential state prison sentence of up to 15 years, underscoring just how seriously New York treats cases where impaired driving causes catastrophic, life-altering injury. The permanent loss of a victim’s eyesight in one eye, combined with a skull fracture and brain bleed, places this squarely among the most severe non-fatal outcomes possible in a DWI crash, and it is the type of case that Suffolk County prosecutors and DA Tierney have publicly pledged to pursue aggressively. For those injured in drunk driving accidents on Long Island, understanding your legal rights as a victim or passenger is critical — visit our Know Your Rights page for more information.