A Long Island man pleaded guilty Tuesday in a drunk-driving crash that killed a bicyclist last year, authorities said.
Wilfredo Blanco Molina, 41, copped to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault, among other crimes, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a press release.
Robert McCarthy, a 69-year-old Hicksville man, was killed in the crash on Oct. 27, 2024, in Westbury. McCarthy was biking down Old County Road when he was struck from behind, thrown into a telephone pole and killed, police said.
Molina was driving a 2006 Chrysler Sebring when he struck McCarthy, investigators said. He fled the scene after the collision but was quickly tied to the wreck after cops found him with a flat tire nearby.
Two hours after the crash, Molina’s blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit. Blood tests also showed evidence of recent cocaine use, and Molina had cocaine in his pocket when he was arrested, prosecutors said.
“He was dangerously intoxicated and under the influence of drugs when he tragically ended Robert McCarthy’s life,” Donnelly said in a press release. “Nothing can undo his horrific choices and the tragedy he caused.”
Molina is facing four to 12 years in prison at his sentencing hearing on Dec. 4, authorities said. The district attorney’s office recommended a sentence between seven and 21 years.
