Sentencing In DWI Crash That Killed Karen Holden

Ryan Gurecki Sentenced today to 6 to 18 years for killing Huntington Nurse/Mom/Huntingtonian Karen Holden.

Holden Family

Ryan Gurecki of Lindenhurst who was driving drunk again was sentenced to 6 to 18 years in prison for causing a crash that killed a Local Nurse/Mom/Huntingtonian.

Ryan Gurecki, 35, agreed to the sentence when he pleaded guilty in March to all charges in the indictment:

• Aggravated vehicular homicide
• Second-degree manslaughter 
• Driving while intoxicated
• Assault.

Police Photo- Ryan Gurecki

He could have faced a maximum of 9 1/3 to 25 years in prison if he had not pled guilty and gone to trial. The Holden Family stated “that they were ok with the sentence as long as he gets the 6 to 18 the plea allowed for. William also feels that the guidelines for DWI/DUI are not strong enough and should be increased.”

Gurecki had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 percent, above the drunken-driving threshold of 0.08 percent, after the crash on June 26, 2016, Stated Suffolk DA

Karen’s husband, William, was driving the family’s 2016 Ford Escape west on Jericho Turnpike and was stopped at a red light at Route 110. Gurecki, who was driving a 2010 Ford Explorer, slammed into the Holden family car. William Holden and the couple’s son, Robert, 23, were injured.

DA Stated the following:

• Gurecki was driving 57 mph on a road where the speed limit was 40 mph
• Police found 13 empty beer bottles in his sport utility vehicle 
• He told officers at the scene he had drunk five beers earlier.

Gurecki was convicted of drunken driving in 2006 and has a “pitiful” driving record that includes 13 license suspensions and five accidents, One of those accidents Gurecki drove into a bed room of a house in 2002 just feet from a couple sleeping.

Editors Note: Our readers would have to agree that maybe the sentence was not enough for such a serial offender. Hopefully this will give the Holden Family some closure, knowing some form of justice has happened. 

Ryan Gurecki Arrested for DWI Again