A 19-year-old Queens man has plead guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide in an alleged drugged driving accident that killed four teen passengers. Joseph Beer has plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter, driving while impaired by drugs, and was found guilty of driving without a license.

Beer’s plea was filed after he was convicted in June of four-counts of second-degree reckless endangerment, four counts of second-degree manslaughter, and reckless driving. That jury was unable to find a verdict on first-degree vehicular manslaughter, first-degree aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, and operating a motor vehicle while impaired.

The plea stems from an October 2012 accident in which Beer, who only had a learner’s driving permit, lost control of his 2012 Subaru while going at a high rate of speed on the Southern State Parkway in Malverne. Beers’ car skidded for more than 200 feet before it left the road and was torn in half when it hit a tree. Police reports say that Beer was travelling at more than 110 mph at the time of the crash.

When the Subaru hit the tree, all four of Beers’ passengers were thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The victims were all 17-and 18-years old, and Beer was the only survivor. Beer submitted to a chemical test for police officers which showed that he allegedly had a high level of marijuana in his system. Beer was charged in November, and was released in January on $250,000 bail. However, Newsday reports that less than 10 days after his release Beer was ordered back to prison after testing positive for marijuana, where he has been held without bail.

According to Newsday, police had found cell phone messages on Beer’s phone the day before the crash that allegedly said, “I’m always high,” “I love smoking weed”, and “I smoke all day every day.” A text message sent about a week before the crash allegedly said that he carried over “$1,000 work of weed through the streets in public,” which Prosecutor Michael Bushwack said was evidence that Beer was also dealing the drug. (http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/joseph-beer-jailed-again-in-crash-that-killed-4-friends-1.4502592)

Beer Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Manslaughter

In July, in front of Judge David Sullivan, Beer plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter and driving while impaired – drugs. Beer also told the court that he was high on marijuana at the time of the crash. He will be in court again on August 26.

Queens DWI Defense Team

If you or a loved one has been arrested for driving while impaired by drugs or with a DWI, call Kerben & Associates at 718-575-8433. Our firm focuses exclusively on criminal defense and we have over 34 years of experience handling all types of DWI and DWAI -drug charges. We always make it our goal to get our clients’ charges reduced or dismissed, and we’re not afraid to go to trial to get the best outcome possible. Call us now at 718-575-8433 to schedule a free and confidential case evaluation.