Long Beach Man Sentenced Up To 22 Years For Drunken Fatal Crash In Garden City

Christhian Velasquez Galeano, 28, was sentenced to 9 to 22 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree vehicular manslaughter and other charges related to a fatal drunk-driving crash in Garden City. On February 9, 2025, Velasquez Galeano was driving intoxicated on Stewart Avenue when he veered into oncoming traffic and crashed into a tree, killing passenger Marco Zuniga. After the crash, Velasquez Galeano and another passenger fled on foot but were found by police hiding nearby. A blood test showed his blood alcohol concentration was .11 percent, and police recovered closed beer bottles from the vehicle. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly highlighted Velasquez Galeano's history as a recidivist offender and expressed hope that the sentence provides justice for Zuniga's family. Separately, in Long Beach, Eric Dewayne Moody was arrested for a deadly hit-and-run after striking a woman in a crosswalk and fleeing the scene, though it remains unclear if impairment was a factor.