Crime & Safety

Guilty Plea in DWI Case That Killed Dix Hills Teen

Driver may face between three and nine years in prison for 2009 motorcycle crash that ended the life of 19-year-old Matthew Scarpati.

The driver that fatally struck 19-year-old Matthew Scarpati in 2009 pled guilty to second degree manslaughter, reckless driving and driving while intoxicated, among other charges, during his trial on Tuesday morning.

James Ryan of New Hyde Park hit Scarpati of Dix Hills with his motorcycle on July 20, 2009 on the Wantagh State Parkway in Wantagh while Scarpati was changing his bicycle tire in a bike lane.

As part of a plea bargain, Ryan will serve between three and nine years in prison pending review of his probation report. Ryan's sentencing will be on Oct. 19; prior to that, Judge Jerald S. Carter will review Ryan's probation report and if there are things in the report that lead Carter to want to up the sentence time, Ryan has the right to take back his guilty plea and go to trial if he chooses.

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Prior to this trial, Ryan's  was in question. Ryan took an Alford plea on Tuesday because he cannot recall what happened as a result of the "traumatic amnesia" as Carter called it that Ryan suffers from the accident. Ryan's attorney, Edward Galison, said during the trial that he advised Ryan not to take the plea but Ryan decided to take the advice of his family, including his father who was a police officer.

"I love my father, he loves me and I want to follow his advice," Ryan said.

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Ryan was asked a series of questions by Carter to determine if he understood what the plea bargain and his decision meant. After being asked if he wanted to fight the charges, Ryan said that he wanted to apologize to the Scarpati's parents.

"I'm terribly sorry about what occurred," he said as he turned around to face Lynn and Jim Scapati in the courtroom.

Ryan also said he can't remember what happened.

“Matthew Scarpati would still be alive if this defendant had simply chosen to put down his keys and call a cab,” Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement. “Instead, we have one promising young life ended too quickly, another man facing years in a prison cell, and two families forever altered by this terrible tragedy.”

The DA's office recommended the maximum sentence, which is five to 15 years. After the trial, Galison noted that no sentence will bring back Matthew Scarpati and that due to Ryan's brain injury, he has been punished enough.

The summer 2009 fatal accident prompted calls by local elected officials including State Sen. Charles J. Fushillo Jr., R-Merrick, and Assemblyman David McDonough, R-Merrick to have the Department of Transportation install a guardrail along the Wantagh Parkway bike path near where the tragic incident occurred. A  for the Wantagh Parkway guard rail project attended by members of the Scarpati family took place on June 6, 2010.


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