Weidner Avenue and Long Beach Road, Oceanside · Thursday, June 18, 2026, about 4:40 p.m.
A 24-year-old Oceanside man has been indicted on manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, and drunk and drugged driving charges after prosecutors say he hit Patricia Pfaus, 78, of Island Park, as she crossed the street in a crosswalk. She died a month later.
What prosecutors say happened
According to the Nassau County District Attorney, Niall Duignan was stopped at a red light in a 2004 Chevrolet Express van at Weidner Avenue and Long Beach Road at about 4:40 p.m. As Ms. Pfaus crossed Weidner Avenue in the crosswalk, he allegedly made a sudden right turn against the red light onto Long Beach Road and struck her. She was taken to South Nassau Hospital with severe injuries, spent nearly a month on a ventilator, and died on July 17, 2026.
Prosecutors say blood drawn about two and a half hours after the crash showed a BAC of .15, and toxicology found cocaine and marijuana. He was arrested at the scene by the Nassau County Police Department.
The charges
On September 3, 2026, he was arraigned on an indictment charging second-degree manslaughter (a class C felony), second-degree vehicular manslaughter and second-degree assault (class D felonies), DWI per se, DWI, driving while ability impaired by drugs, and driving while ability impaired by the combined influence of drugs and alcohol, plus two traffic violations. He pleaded not guilty. Bail was set at $50,000 cash, a $100,000 bond, or a $500,000 partially secured bond. The maximum sentence is 5 to 15 years.
What those charges mean
The indictment charges alcohol and drugs separately and together. DWI covers the alcohol. Driving while ability impaired by drugs requires proof that the driver was impaired by a drug on New York's controlled substance list. The combined-influence count covers impairment by alcohol and drugs together, which prosecutors use when neither alone may be enough to prove the case.
Timing will matter. The blood was drawn about two and a half hours after the crash. New York's implied-consent rules generally cover a test within two hours of arrest, so a later draw usually rests on the driver's actual consent or a court order. How this sample was obtained, and what a .15 two and a half hours later says about the BAC at the time of the turn, are the kinds of questions the defense will test.
Where the case stands
He is due back in court on October 19, 2026. Mr. Duignan is presumed innocent.
Related: DWAI and DWAI-drugs · felony DWI
This article is drawn from public court filings, official releases and news reports, and is provided for general information only. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Nothing here predicts the outcome of any other case, and nothing here is legal advice.