Drunk driver guilty in Long Island crash that left woman paralyzed: Nassau DA

MINEOLA, NY (PIX11) --- A Manhattan man who was once convicted of murder was found guilty Friday in a Long Island crash that left a 58-year-old woman paralyzed from the chest down.

Lumumba Woods, 50, was convicted of assault and driving while intoxicated in connection with the December 2020 crash. Woods sped past one car, crashed into the median, shot across several lanes of travel and flipped his SUV, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. The passenger was ejected about 20 feet from the vehicle

"The victim suffered catastrophic injuries and is still unable to talk or walk, two years after the crash, due to this defendant’s reckless actions," Donnelly said. "Mr. Woods, who was one-and-a-half times the legal limit for alcohol, endangered every person on the road that evening."

Woods faces a potential maximum of seven years behind bars in connection with the Dec. 18, 2020 crash, officials said. He already spent years behind bars after being convicted of murder in 1992. At the time, he was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Woods was released in 2014.