Press Release

Defendant Was Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Marijuana

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Victor Mitchell pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide for a Far Rockaway single-car crash that killed his 8-year-old son in August 2020. Sobriety tests showed the defendant was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.

District Attorney Katz said: “This man’s recklessness led to the tragic death of his young son and could have harmed others on the road. There are very few things more selfish than getting behind the wheel and driving under the influence. Everyone with whom we share the road — other motorists, pedestrians, cyclists — deserves our respect and consideration and has every right to reach their destination safely.”

Mitchell, 37, of Central Avenue in Albany, pleaded guilty yesterday to aggravated vehicular homicide before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise, who is expected to sentence him to four to 12 years in prison on July 28.

According to the charges:

– Mitchell was driving with his son on August 16, 2020, at approximately 6:50 a.m., when his Acura slammed into a telephone pole at Seagirt Boulevard and Beach Street.

– A police-administered breathalyzer test showed Mitchell’s blood alcohol content to be .118 percent—above the DWI standard of .08 percent. The result of a Draeger drug test was positive for THC, a main ingredient of cannabis.

– Mitchell’s son underwent emergency surgery at a local hospital but was not resuscitated and succumbed to his injuries the following day.

Assistant District Attorney Gabriel Reale, of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal and Major Crimes.

Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Michael Whitney, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.

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