A Great Neck man was sentenced Friday to up to four years in prison for criminally negligent homicide in connection to the death of his neighbor in 2017.

Christian Arevalo got into a fight with 20-year-old Corey Howell in August 2017.

Prosecutors said Arevalo tried to run over Howell, who jumped on to the hood of his car. Arevalo then drove the car for more than a mile at speeds up to 60 mph – zig-zagging while Howell held on. Howell died from a head injury after Arevalo crashed near the Cumberland Adult Center.

Arevalo’s attorney maintained that his client was only trying to protect himself from an attack that he says was started by Howell and members of his family.

"Mr. Howell proceeded, after assaulting [Arevalo], to jump onto the hood of his car and begin smashing the windshield of the car, as well as other members of Mr. Howell's family [who] were smashing the windows of the car in an attempt to further inflict serious physical injury on Mr. Arevalo,” attorney Brian Griffin said in 2017.

Arevalo was not convicted on the top charge of murder or manslaughter. His attorney William Kephart says his client could be released from prison sometime this year due to time already served.

In court, Arevalo never looked at Howell’s mother Maxine, who chided the defendant for killing her son.

“Because of you, Christian Arevalo, I am a sad and hopeless mother," she said. “He took a life and destroyed the life of an entire family.”

Nassau County prosecutors refused to comment about the case.

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