Teen Driver Accused In Deadly Meadowbrook State Parkway Crash Appears In Court
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A teen driver accused in a deadly crash on the Meadowbrook State Parkway last month appeared in court on Wednesday.
Fifteen-year-old Cindy Sanchez faces charges as a juvenile after authorities said the SUV she was driving crashed on the parkway on June 8. She was charged with three counts of manslaughter and three counts of criminally negligent homicide.
Three teens, including Sanchez's 13-year-old brother, David Sanchez, died in the crash.
Also killed were 16-year-old Herbert Leo Aviles Maravilla and 15-year-old Marlon Carbajal, each of Uniondale. Police said six other teens, including the driver and the driver's 2-year-old son, were also injured in the crash.
On Wednesday, a family court judge ordered her to spend a year at a therapeutic facility for girls, where she will receive counseling, parenting courses and visits with her son.
"There were three victims in this case, a horrible tragedy for the families, but there's also a fourth victim. My client is only 15 years old. She regrets what happened here, she never intended for this accident, this horrible accident, to occur that morning," defense attorney James Toner said. "She will have the rest of her life to work this out."
The baby's 22-year-old father was also in court seeking visitation.
Authorities said Sanchez was driving the SUV that was taken without permission from a friend's father on a day the group planned to cut school for the beach when the vehicle crashed.
A judge previously ordered a psychiatric exam for Sanchez.
"She's sad, she's remorseful, she's depressed," Toner said. "She's 15-years-old, lost her brother and lost friends."
The sister of one of the victims, Gissell Carbajal, said her brother Marlon "had like a heart of gold."
"When I got the call, I was at work and I was bawling that I didn't think he would've passed like that it was shocking," she told CBS2.
One of the teens in the car told Carbajal it was a nightmare.
"He said he closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes and either my brother or his brother were there, I was like, 'I feel your pain I lost my brother too,'" she said.
Prosecutors said no one in the SUV had a license.
