Mother in deadly wrong-way crash on Long Island had 56 license suspensions, prosecutors say
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- Kerri Bedrick, the woman accused of driving while impaired during a wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway that left her 9-year-old son dead, pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
Bedrick, 32, of Centerport, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair. She faces several charges, including operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, endangering the welfare of a child, and more. Prosecutors say they will pursue homicide charges.
Bedrick's son, Eli Henrys, died in Thursday's crash, which involved four cars.
Bedrick's license suspended 56 times, prosecutors say
Her license was expired at the time of the crash, prosecutors said. She's had 56 suspensions, including a 2012 DWI conviction where she attempted to escape, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say when Bedrick was arrested, she was in possession of various pills, including methamphetamine.
Bedrick suffers from numerous medical problems, including spina bifida, narcolepsy, epilepsy, and was taking prescribed medication, her defense attorney told the court. She's also been the victim of domestic violence, he said.
She has suffered the worst loss a parent can suffer, he said, and asked for bail so she can attend her son's funeral.
The judge set bail at $1 million cash, $2 million bond, noting her numerous suspensions and scofflaw violations.
The judge called the case one of the most tragic ones to come before him in 39 years.
Outside court, Bedrick's mother was in tears. She said her grandson was a sweet boy.
"She loved him so much," Diane Bedrick said.
"Her attorney said she had a lot of medical problems. Did that play a role in this?" CBS New York's Carolyn Gusoff asked.
"I think so," Diane Bedrick said.
In years of Facebook posts, Kerri Bedrick lovingly described Eli, and shared she had lost two brothers to heroin overdoses.
She is due back in court next Tuesday.
Police tried to stop Bedrick before the collision, they say
Prior to the deadly crash on the Southern State Parkway, police say she was spotted driving the wrong way on Sunrise Highway, and a Suffolk County Sheriff's Office patrol car tried to pull her over, authorities said. She didn't stop, and actually sped up, they said.
When the officer caught up with her, the crash had already happened. She was found standing outside her car. Authorities administered CPR to Henrys, who was in the back seat and was wearing a seat belt, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to court documents, when officers asked her where she was coming from and where she was going, she said "I honestly don't know." They say they found indicators of impairment including watery eyes, slurred speech and impaired motor skills.
As for the methamphetamine pills in the car, she told officers "those are my prescriptions," according to court documents.
"He was a good kid"
"A tragedy what happened here. I'm so upset for the family," Bedrick's neighbor Christina Kulic said.
Kulic said she's sick over the death of Henrys, who would often play with her son. They were both going into 4th grade. She said she wished she had asked to watch Henrys for the night, and saw Bedrick drive away with him in the back seat.
"He was a good kid. He was very polite, very sweet. Couldn't wait to come over. Fun, great sense of humor, just a good boy," Kulic said.
Bedrick seemed very much the caring mother, Kulic said.
"I'm shocked. This is not the kind of person I wouldn't have though would have made a decision like this. This is disgusting," she said. "It seems completely out of character."