An ex-Suffolk County police officer has admitted to driving drunk the wrong way on Sunrise Highway and causing the head-on crash that killed a 37-year-old man in Bay Shore last year.
Robert Scheuerer, who was fired after he was indicted, pleaded guilty Monday at Suffolk County court to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide.
Prosecutors said the 26-year-old ex-cop fronm Farmingdale had a blood alcohol content of 0.17 percent — more than double the legal limit — over an hour after he drove his Nissan Pathfinder eastbound in the westbound lanes of Route 27, crashing into a van driven by Brian J. Fusaro at 4:40 a.m. Sept. 27, 2016.
Scheuerer had 10 pints of beer and a Margarita prior to the crash, according to investigators. Fusaro was trapped in his vehicle and he burned to death, authorities said.
Judge Fernando Camacho promised to sentence Scheuerer to three to nine years in prison in exchange for the plea. Prosecutors had recommended four to 12 years. He originally faced up to 25 years in prison.
Scheuerer, who was a Third Precinct officer on force for one year at the time, was off duty when the crash occurred. He has been free on $250,000 bail. He is scheduled to begin serving his sentence Jan. 18.
