WH Man Arraigned on Felony Charges in Fatal DWI Crash

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Friday that the driver in a one-car crash that killed two passengers and severely injured two more last January has been arraigned on charges that he was drunk and high on marijuana at the time of the crash.

On Jan. 27, 2013 at 5:45 a.m. Kervens Boutin, 30, of West Hempstead, was operating a Nissan Maxima westbound on the Southern State Parkway with four passengers when he lost control and struck several trees.

Pronounced dead at the scene were passengers Bryan Rivas, 20, and Blossom Castro, 22.

A 22-year-old male passenger was ejected from the vehicle and had his right leg severed in the crash while a 19-year-old male passenger, also ejected from the vehicle, suffered severe internal injuries. Both men survived.

Both of Boutin’s legs were severed in the crash. His blood-alcohol content 40 minutes after the crash was .31%, nearly four times the legal limit and marijuana was also active in his system, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Boutin was arraigned Friday morning on a grand jury indictment charging him with four counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, three counts of vehicular manslaughter in the first degree, two counts of manslaughter in the second degree, two counts of driving while intoxicated, and numerous other charges. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

“Mere words cannot describe the injuries Blossom Castro and Bryan Rivas suffered in this crash, to say nothing of the harm this defendant inflicted on himself and his two surviving passengers,” Rice said in a release. “This tragedy forever altered the fates of the five people involved and their families, and it all could have easily been avoided.”