Wading River Man Sentenced for Fatal Drugged Hit-and-Run

A Wading River man was sentenced to 8–16 years in prison for driving while high on drugs, causing a high-speed crash that killed an 82-year-old man and fleeing the scene in East Quogue.

George Hackett pleaded guilty at Suffolk County court on March 28 to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, driving while impaired by the combined influence of drugs, and reckless driving.

“Today’s sentencing is just, but it can never heal the tragic loss of the Blake family,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said. “The defendant’s reckless decision to drive at excessive speed showed a complete disregard for human life and safety.”  

Prosecutors said the 54-year-old man was driving a 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe 113 mph on Sunrise Highway while high on cannabis and Xanax when he rear-ended a 2010 Nissan Armada that Franklin Blake of Queens was driving at 3:30 a.m. June 8, 2023. 

The victim died of injuries suffered in the crash, which forced his vehicle into the woods, authorities said. Hackett’s vehicle rolled over but landed upright, so he drove it for less than a mile before it broke down, according to investigators. He was apprehended while walking away from the scene.

Hackett was on parole for assault and had three prior convictions for driving while intoxicated — once in 1995 and twice in 2016 — at the time of the crash.