A wannabe-influencer who stole a luxury SUV and livestreamed deadly 2024 joyride that left one elderly woman dead pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, officials said.
Matthew Papile, 18, was smoking pot live on social media in a stolen 2008 Land Rover on May 4, 2024 when he smashed into and killed 73-year-old Marion Napolitano, according to Suffolk County cops.
Papile, who was just 16-years-old at the time, slammed into the back of Napolitano’s tiny 1994 Toyota Corolla with such force it launched it off the road and into a telephone pole and tree. Napolitano was killed and her passenger seriously injured.
Papile tried to take off from the scene on foot but he was caught and held by three good Samaritans, including an off-duty Suffolk County cop.
“[Papile’s] guilty plea underscores the outrageous and utterly unacceptable decision to get behind the wheel of a stolen vehicle while impaired and drive recklessly through the streets of Suffolk County,” said District Attorney Ray Tierney.
“[His] choices on that day were selfish, lethal and they ruined lives,” he added of the driver, who was tried as an adult.
He now faces six to 18 years in prison and is due for sentencing on Sept. 15.
