Bay Shore Woman Sentenced to Prison for Drunk Driving and Paralyzing 3-Year-Old

   Traffic Ticket Nassau County
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Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice stated a woman from Bay Shore, Long Island has been sentenced to 3-9 years in prison for driving drunk and crashing into a tree, which paralyzed her 3-year-old daughter. 

“Rice said that on March 7, 2010, Samantha Alfaro, 20, spent the night drinking at her cousin's East Meadow home. At approximately 7:30 a.m. the next morning, Alfaro was seen driving her 1998 Mazda 626LX northbound on South Oyster Bay Road with her daughter in the backseat. Alfaro veered across the southbound lanes, hit the curb and drove along the curb into oncoming traffic before crashing into a tree,” (Syosset.Patch.com). 

At the time of the crash, the child was only secured with a seatbelt – not a child’s safety seat. 

“The impact of the crash broke the child’s neck and severed her spine by approximately five inches, leaving her paralyzed and unable to breathe,” (Syosset.Patch.com). 

With immediate medical attention from off-duty fire department personnel, the Syosset Fire Department medical team and Nassau County Police Department’s Second Precinct and Aviation Bureau, the child was revived. 

Alfaro suffered leg and ankle injuries, and had a blood alcohol content level of .11 nearly an hour after the crash, officials reported. 

According to Rice, officers found the child’s safety seat in the trunk of Alfaro's car. “They also found a half-empty bottle of vodka, plastic cups and multiple empty beer bottles inside the car. Alfaro’s mother now has custody of the child, who is now five years old,” (Sysosset.Patch.com).  

Rice said “Today’s sentence cannot change the heart-breaking impact this defendant’s reckless choice has had on an innocent child… Tragedies like this are why I lobbied so hard for the successful passage of Leandra’s Law. Children deserve every possible level of protection we can provide," (Sysosset.Patch.com).

Don’t drink and drive! Should you find yourself in a DUI situation, contact Traffic Ticket Nassau County immediately at 516-319-5822. Visit TrafficTicketNassauCounty.com for more information.