A Setauket cardiologist has admitted to driving drunk, causing a crash that killed a 45-year-old Middle Island woman and then fleeing the scene in Smithtown last year.
Dr. Thomas Stavola pleaded guilty Thursday at Suffolk County court to charges of manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Prosecutors said the 56-year-old doctor was driving his Audi northbound on Route 111 when his car broadsided a westbound Mercedes at the corner of East Main Street shortly before 4 a.m. on Saturday, June 14, 2014.
The victim, Monica Peterman, an X-Ray technician, was on her way to work at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center—the hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Dr. Stavola’s blood, taken 90 minutes after the crash, showed a blood alcohol content of 0.10 percent, authorities said.
Judge Fernando Camacho is expected to sentence the doctor to two years in prison and five years’ probation.
