A Patchogue man has been indicted on a charge of depraved indifference murder for allegedly driving high on drugs, hitting seven cars and killing an 82-year-old man in Sayville four months ago.
Thomas Herman will be arraigned Friday on that and 23 other charges at Suffolk County court. The 46-year-old Patchogue man is currently being held without bail.
“Our retrieval and analysis of the data from the black box in Herman’s SUV has established his 2008 Chevy Trailblazer was traveling at 87 miles per hour at the point of impact with the victim’s Hyundai Elantra,” Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota said.
Prosecutors said Herman was high on PCP, Morphine and various prescription medications while speeding on Montauk Highway during the hit-and-run crashes in the early evening hours of Sunday, Jan. 13.
The last of those crashes was head-on, leaving Sam Longo of West Islip dead and his passenger, 79-year old Agnes Gilbert of Oakdale, suffering from a fractured hip, pelvis, leg and several broken ribs.
Spota said a store surveillance camera captured Herman swipe a car alongside him, shearing off the car’s outside mirror in front of a Suffolk County police officer, who started pursuing the suspect 10 seconds before the deadly collision.
