Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Travis Dickson, 32, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to driving his vehicle at an extremely high rate of speed on the Long Island Expressway and crashing into the back of another vehicle, killing a 9-year-old boy.
“This defendant’s dangerous actions caused the unthinkable death of a nine-year-old child in a booster seat and serious injuries to his father,” said District Attorney Tierney. “No family deserves to go through the heartache of losing a family member, let alone a child, to a drunk or drug-impaired driver. We hope that today’s guilty plea brings some measure of closure to the victim’s family.”
According to court documents and the defendant’s admissions during his guilty plea allocution, on August 22, 2022, at approximately 1:49 a.m., Dickson drove a 2018 BMW 540i westbound on the Long Island Expressway at 119 mph, while he was impaired by a combination of alcohol and marijuana. Dickson then struck the back of a 2019 Toyota Corolla, making no attempt to use the vehicle’s brakes prior to the impact.
Inside the Toyota was a 9-year-old child restrained in a booster seat, and his father, the driver. The child was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was listed in critical condition due to the injuries sustained from the crash. The victim’s father was also taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. On August 24, 2022, doctors declared the child braindead, and he was ultimately removed from life support after arrangements were made to donate his organs.
Following the crash, Dickson exhibited signs of intoxication, made admissions to smoking marijuana, and law enforcement found marijuana on his person. A sample of Dickson’s blood drawn approximately three hours after the crash revealed a blood alcohol concentration of .14% and the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. Law enforcement also determined that Dickson’s New York State driver’s license was revoked at the time he was driving the BMW.
On February 9, 2024, Dickson pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard Horowitz, to the charges of:
- Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class C felony;
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a Class D felony;
- Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D felony;
- Assault in the Third Degree, a Class A misdemeanor;
- Driving While Intoxicated and Driving While Impaired by the Combined Influence of Alcohol and a Drug, an unclassified misdemeanor;
- Reckless Driving, an unclassified misdemeanor; and
- Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle in the Third Degree, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Dickson faces a sentence of four and a half to 13 and a half years in prison. He is due back in court for sentencing on April 5, 2024 and is being represented by Douglas Rankin, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys James Curtin and James Scahill of the Vehicular Crime Bureau with investigative assistance from Detective Juan Borbon of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Sixth Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.
