Plainview woman pleads guilty to driving while high on methamphetamine, causing crash that killed Farmingdale man

A Plainview woman will be sentenced to 4 to 12 years in state prison after admitting Friday to causing a drugged-driving crash that claimed the life of a Farmingdale man in August 2025, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office said.

Cassandra Panetta, 41, pleaded guilty before acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty in Mineola to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault and driving while ability impaired by drugs, prosecutors said in a news release. Steven Diamond, 55, a passenger in another vehicle, was killed in the crash.

"Steven Diamond was on his way to spend a summer afternoon at the beach with friends, but because of this defendant’s careless actions, he sadly never made it there," District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.

Prosecutors have said Panetta was driving on Carman Avenue toward her Plainview home at about 1 p.m. on Aug. 10, 2025, when she approached a red light at the intersection of Salisbury Park Drive.

Panetta allegedly drove her 2012 Nissan Maxima through the red light without hitting her brakes as another car with a green light was turning left from Salisbury onto Carman, prosecutors have said. Panetta’s vehicle crashed into the rear driver’s side of the turning car, which Nassau police previously identified as a 2024 Nissan Altima.

Diamond, seated in the back of the Altima, was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at the scene, prosecutors said. He was pronounced dead at Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow at 3:13 p.m. that day.

The driver of the Altima and a front-seat passenger also suffered injuries, according to prosecutors.

Panetta, who sustained a fractured wrist in the crash, tested positive for both methamphetamine and amphetamine, prosecutors said.

"High on methamphetamine in the middle of the day, Cassandra Panetta got behind the wheel, plowed through a red light, and crashed into the car where Steven was riding in the back seat, taking his life in an instant," Donnelly said. "Our hearts are with his family as they continue to grieve this immeasurable loss, and we hope today’s guilty plea gives them some measure of justice knowing the defendant will spend the next several years answering for this senseless tragedy."

Panetta was arrested on Oct. 17, 2025, by members of the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.

She is due back in court for sentencing Dec. 8, prosecutors said.

Marc Gann, the attorney for Panetta, could not be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.