Oceanside man indicted in DWI crash that killed 78-year-old Island Park woman in crosswalk

Niall Duignan allegedly was drunk and high on cocaine and marijuana when he ran a red light and hit Patricia Pfaus 11 days after she turned 78, DA says

A grand jury indicted an Oceanside man on manslaughter and other drunk and drugged driving charges for striking and killing a 78-year-old Island Park woman as she crossed a Long Beach Road intersection in June, Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly announced.

Niall Duignan, 24, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and a bevy of other charges at his arraignment Thursday before Judge Colin O’Donnell in Mineola. If convicted of the most serious charges, he faces up to 5 to 15 years in prison.

The indictment alleges Duignan was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Express van on June 18 and stopped at a red light at Weidner Avenue and Long Beach Road in Oceanside about 4:40 p.m. Pfaus was attempting to walk across Weidner Avenue in the crosswalk when Duignan turned his vehicle right the red light and struck her, according to the charges.

“With no regard for anyone else, Niall Duignan consciously got behind the wheel while allegedly impaired by alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana,” Donnelly said. “As the defendant sat at a red light, he never once checked for pedestrians in the crosswalk before he hit the gas, slamming into 78-year-old Patricia Pfaus.”

The county’s top prosecutor noted how Pfaus’ family “agonized for a whole month” as the woman fought for her life on a ventilator.

“This tragedy was as preventable as it was criminal,” she said.

Following the crash, Pfaus was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital with a wide array of serious injuries, including facial fractures, a lacerated liver, broken ribs, and a traumatic brain injury. She remained on a ventilator for nearly a month before she was pronounced dead on July 17.

Blood drawn from Duignan roughly two and a half hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol content of .15%, nearly double the legal limit of .08%, Donnelly said. A toxicology report also found cocaine and marijuana in his system, said Nassau Police, who arrested him the day of the crash.

Bail was set at $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond, or $500,000 partially secured bond. Duignan is due back in court Oct. 19.

The full indictment includes:

• Manslaughter in the Second Degree (C felony)
• Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (D felony)
• Assault in the Second Degree (D felony)
• Driving While Intoxicated Per Se (unclassified misdemeanor)
• Driving While Intoxicated (unclassified misdemeanor)
• Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs (unclassified misdemeanor)
• Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of Drugs or of Alcohol and Any Drug or Drugs (unclassified misdemeanor)
• Stopping, Standing, or Parking a Vehicle in a Specified Place (violation)
• Failure to Stop at a Steady Red Traffic Light (violation)

Pfaus was born in New York City and raised in Woodside, Queens, before her family moved to Oceanside, where she graduated from Oceanside High School.

She spent much of her career at McGraw Hill Publishing before working at Forman, Lowell & Shapiro Insurance. Family remembered her as a devoted soap opera and Broadway fan who loved PBS programming and British dramas, and who was known for tracking down the perfect greeting card for every birthday and holiday — even if it meant it arrived a little late.

Pfaus is survived by her sister, nephew, nieces and extended family.

_{Top: Patricia Pfaus (Towers Funeral Home) and Niall Duignan (Nassau Police)}