Medford man admits driving drunk at 117 mph in crash that killed 22-year-old passenger

A Medford man faces up to 12 years in prison after admitting he was drunk and driving 117 mph when he crashed his BMW into trees on Bellport Avenue last fall, killing a 22-year-old passenger.

Jefry Valdez Cruz, 26, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and eight other charges in the Oct. 6, 2025, crash that killed Edgar Guevara Ramos and injured two other passengers, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Monday. He is expected to be sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison when he returns to court Dec. 2.

“Every person who drinks and drives takes the same gamble that this defendant took,” Tierney said. “Unfortunately, as we see far too often, a young passenger paid for that gamble with his life.”

Valdez Cruz acknowledged in court that he and three other people left a barbecue where he had been drinking. At about 2:53 a.m., he was speeding his BMW south between Long Island
Avenue and Horseblock Road on Bellport Avenue in Medford when he crossed into the northbound lane and slammed into trees on the opposite side of the road. The speed limit is 30 mph on that section of road.

Guevara Ramos was thrown from the car and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers, Jason Cruz, 24, of Medford, and Gustavo Martinez Caceres, 26,
of Selden, were treated for non-life threatening injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital, authorities said.

The BMW’s event data recorder showed the car going 117 mph about three seconds before impact, prosecutors said. A blood test taken at the hospital about an hour after the crash showed Valdez Cruz had a blood alcohol content of 0.14%, well above the legal limit of 0.08%, Tierney said.

Valdez Cruz on Friday pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard Horowitz to every count in the indictment: aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, third-degree assault, two counts of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

Because Valdez Cruz is a citizen of El Salvador, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged a detainer to take him into custody once he completes his prison sentence, prosecutors said.

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_{Top: Jefry Valdez Cruz (provided by SCDA).}