A 50-YEAR-OLD Barbadian in Brooklyn has pleaded not guilty to a host of charges, including driving under the influence (DUI) and vehicular homicide, after he allegedly spent several hours drinking brandy before going onto a Long Island expressway and killing a New York City police officer in a car crash.
Now, Michael Bowen faces the possibility of spending the next 25 years in a New York prison.
Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and a grand jury have added several charges to the original accusations.
They run the gamut from manslaughter, aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter to driving under the influence.
The charges stem from a November 15 head-on collision in which Andre Menzies, 35, of North Babylon, died instantly when Bowen allegedly drove his minivan the wrong way on the Northern State Parkway.
Spota told reporters at a news conference that Bowen had spent ten hours drinking brandy in Brooklyn before getting behind the wheel of his minivan.
The official said Bowen apparently intended to travel to Mount Vernon in Westchester County but somehow ended up in Suffolk County.
Police and the district attorney insist that Bowen was drunk, got lost on the highway and then tried to make a three-point turn in order to get back on track but went in the wrong direction and slammed into Menzies’ car.
“I have never seen anybody make such a turn,” Spota said.
“Why he would try to make a three-point turn, we really can’t say.”
When Bowen appeared in a Suffolk County court wearing a green prison inmate jumpsuit, he remained silent as his attorney entered not guilty pleas on his behalf. Judge Richard Ambro of the Suffolk County court ordered the Barbadian held on US$1 million bond or US$500 000 cash bail.
The prosecutor didn’t know how many drinks Bowen had consumed and exactly where he was drinking. However, Spota alleged in the 12-count indictment that:
• Bowen’s blood alcohol level was .26, three times the legal limit of 0.8.
• at least 18 people had called the 911 emergency number and reported that someone was driving the wrong way on the Northern State [Parkway].
• Bowen was driving with his headlights off, and may have been travelling at high speed.
If convicted on the homicide and manslaughter charges alone, the Barbadian could be sentenced to 25 years behind bars, but it is doubtful he would receive such a stiff sentence.
Drunk driving is said to be a common offence in New York State, where 1 231 people were killed in crashes in which alcohol impairment was a factor in 2008.
In 2007, 1 332 people lost their lives in DUI cases, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
