Drunk driver in fatal crash on County Road 105 sentenced to 5-15 years in prison

The Riverhead man who pleaded guilty last month to aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, assault and aggravated DWI charges in the multi-vehicle crash on County Road 105 in August was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison today, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced. 

Cristian Mendoza-Baquiax, 37, was driving with a blood alcohol content three times the legal limit on the evening of Aug. 7, northbound on County Road 105 when he entered the southbound lane of travel  at a high rate of speed and crashed his car into several other vehicles, according to his testimony during his guilty plea.

The crash killed a passenger in his car, Nelson Reyes-Muxin, 33, of Riverhead, and injured several other people, Tierney said. 

Another passenger in Mendoza-Baquiax’s vehicle sustained multiple fractures to his arm and a dislocated shoulder, for which he received treatment at Peconic Bay Medical Center, the district attorney said.

The driver of another vehicle involved in the crash sustained two fractured legs and a dislocated ankle, and had to be airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital for medical treatment. 

In addition, two other individuals had to be transported to local hospitals for injuries sustained as a result of the crash, Tierney said.

On March 11, 2025, Mendoza-Baquiax pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski to the following charges:

• Three counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, Class B felonies;

• One count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;

• Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D felonies;

• One count of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, a Class E felony; and

• Two counts of Assault in the Third Degree, Class A misdemeanors.

“When someone chooses to drive with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, they are not just breaking the law – they are treating every other person on the road as expendable,” Tierney said.

“This sentencing sends out the message that, here in Suffolk County, we will not tolerate decisions that turn vehicles into deadly weapons.”

Mendoza-Baquiax exhibited signs of intoxication and told responding officers that he had consumed six beers, the prosecutor said in a press release today. A sample of Mendoza-Baquiax ‘s blood taken by hospital staff upon his admission was seized pursuant to a search warrant. Subsequent toxicology results of that sample revealed that he had a .25% blood alcohol content, according to the release.

Mendoza-Baquiax was represented by the Legal Aid Society.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bopp of the Vehicular Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Carrieri of the Riverhead Town Police Department, Tierney said.