Wild Scene Unfolds As Alleged Patchogue DUI Is Caught On Camera
PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A bystander barely made it out of the way of a terrifying road rampage that was caught on dashcam video on Long Island.
As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, one family was hit twice in a matter of minutes.
The accident happened at the intersection of Woodside and Ocean Avenues. A woman was driving drunk and crashed into a mini van carrying a mother and her two children, police said.
Now, the family hopes the incident will discourage anyone who thinks about driving under the influence.
The Krasnovs were holding each other a little closer on Friday night, knowing an accused drunk driver could have shattered their family.
A dashcam was rolling as Yana Krasnov and her two girls, ages 7 and 4, pulled up to a Patchogue stop light around 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Footage shows Linda Spina's sport-utility vehicle in the middle of the street.
Spina, 53, ran over a road sign as her car jumped the median and plowed head on into Krasnov's car.
"I thought maybe she just drove the wrong way, and I didn't even prepare like she's going to hit me," Krasnov said.
Krasnov said a good Samaritan jumped in and tried to get a disoriented Spina to stop.
The video shows Spina put the car in reverse, back up through rush hour traffic, then put it in drive, almost running over the woman who tried to help, and then head on again into Krasnov's minivan.
"It was very scary, and I couldn't even imagine that she would hit us again, and I thought we might die," Krasnov said, "I was thinking I could lose my girls too. I might survive, but they would die."
Krasnov's frantic screams and her children's terrified cries could be heard as Spina pushed her minivan backwards with no signs of stopping. Krasnov called her husband the first time she was hit, and he listened on the other end as they were hit again.
"They're all screaming and then silence. So at this moment I thought I lost them," Andrey Krasnov said.
Yana and her daughters were okay, but little Alice can't forget the impact.
"My head started to hurt a little bit, when it goes back like three or four times," she said.
Spina was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated and taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in Patchogue. While everyone survived the accident, they realize it could have been devastating and hope it is a lesson to anyone who thinks about driving under the influence.
Spina was home in Selden Friday night after being arraigned.