Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Reginald Nash pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and assault for causing a high-speed, three-car collision in November 2023 on the Long Island Expressway. The defendant was driving at approximately 89 mph, with alcohol in his system, when he hit an exit barrier and spun out of control. The subsequent crash left one of his passengers dead and three others, including the defendant’s sister, seriously injured.

District Attorney Katz said: “The defendant caused a horrific three-vehicle crash that killed one of his passengers and left three others with serious injuries that required surgery. When drivers make the selfish choice to get behind the wheel after drinking and then speed recklessly down a highway, they put countless lives at risk – including the lives of their own friends and family. With this plea, we are ensuring accountability for the senseless loss of life and the pain and suffering inflicted.”

Nash, 26, of Lincoln Avenue in Roosevelt, pleaded guilty yesterday to aggravated vehicular homicide and assault in the second degree before Supreme Court Justice Michael Hartofilis, who ordered the defendant to return to court for sentencing on July 23.

Nash is expected to be sentenced to 7 to 21 years in prison.

DA Katz said, that according to the charges and the indictment, on November 19, 2023, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Nash was driving a 2021 Honda Accord eastbound on the Long Island Expressway when he crashed into a highway attenuator separating the highway from the Greenpoint Avenue exit.

After hitting the barrier, the Honda spun out of control and struck a Toyota on the highway. The Toyota, in turn, spun and hit a Kia. The Honda sustained extensive damage and came to a halt facing the wrong direction on the highway.

One of the passengers inside Nash’s vehicle, 23-year-old Cameron Mency, was ejected approximately 90 feet from the car and landed in the left lane of the highway. She was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Another passenger sustained serious injuries and had to undergo multiple surgeries to her back. She has since been discharged.

A third passenger sustained head and body trauma and underwent surgery for a fractured tibia. She has not regained full mobility. Nash’s sister was also in the car and injured in the crash.

According to the investigation, Nash had a blood alcohol content of .12 percent, exceeding the legal threshold of .08 percent. The vehicle’s black box later revealed that the car was traveling at approximately 89 miles per hour five seconds prior to the fatal collision.

Assistant District Attorney Alexia Campoverde of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Michael Whitney, Bureau Chief, and Roni C. Piplani and Timothy Regan, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, along with the assistance of Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Selkowe, Vehicular Homicide Unit Chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Shawn Clark.