Psychiatrist: Defendant didn't have PTSD when she ran down Evelyn Rodriguez

A Patchogue woman who ran over Evelyn Rodriguez wasn't suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of the deadly Brentwood encounter, a psychiatrist said Monday in testimony that took aim at the defense's main contention.

Dr. Marc Tarle said previous psychiatric disorders that Ann Marie Drago had didn't impact her mental state and behavior on the day in September 2018 when Rodriguez died.

"Her behavior was not impaired at all," the prosecution witness said, adding that Drago acted in a "coherent" and "organized" manner. His opinion sharply contrasted with those of two defense experts who testified last week.

The conclusion of Tarle's testimony later Monday marked an end to all testimony in Drago's criminally negligent homicide trial in Central Islip.

Prosecutors say Drago, 59, stepped on the gas pedal of her Nissan Rogue after Rodriguez approached with her partner Freddy Cuevas to demand the return of items the driver stole from a memorial for their slain teenage daughter Kayla Cuevas.

As Drago accelerated, Rodriguez took a step forward at the same time and one of her feet caught under a tire before she fell to the ground and both driver’s side tires ran her over, according to the Suffolk district attorney's office.

Rodriguez, 50, of Brentwood, had set up a memorial for Kayla for a vigil that had been planned for 6 p.m. to mark the second anniversary of the discovery of the 16-year-old's body. Federal prosecutors say she and her friend Nisa Mickens, 15, died in a beating by MS-13 members who are awaiting trial.

Suffolk prosecutors say Drago dismantled the memorial in front of her mother's Ray Court home because she didn't want to scare off potential buyers who were due to visit. 

But the defense claims Drago was in charge of maintaining her mother's property and an ordinance required her to clean an area where mourners constantly left items including pizza boxes and liquor bottles.

Drago's attorney, Stephen Kunken, also contends his client — while suffering from PTSD —feared for her life when Rodriguez and Cuevas ran up, cursing and pointing at her. He says she eased the Nissan forward to try to escape when she believed Rodriguez and Cuevas had moved away from the front.

Licensed clinical psychologist Elizabeth Smyth testified previously that Drago had suffered a vicious attack from a psychiatric patient in 2008 while working as a nurse.

Smyth, who was treating Drago at the time of the 2018 fatal encounter, said Drago became a patient in 2017 in connection with a worker's compensation case. Smyth said she found Drago had chronic PTSD, major depressive disorder, panic disorder and pain disorder.

Defense witness N.G. Berrill, a forensic psychologist, also testified previously that he examined Drago and concluded she had PTSD at the time of the confrontation — triggering a fight or flight response.

But Tarle, the prosecution's rebuttal witness, said he examined Drago in 2019 and found after also reviewing other evidence in the case that her behavior on the day in question "was not reflective of panic and disorganization."

The psychiatrist also compared what he called "coherence" and "measured speech" in a 911 call Drago placed with "tears and agitation and stumbling words" in the 911 call that News 12 Long Island reporter Eileen Lehpamer made.

One of Lehpamer's colleagues who also was at the scene to cover the vigil recorded video of the confrontation that is key evidence in the case.

During a cross-exam, Tarle acknowledged Smyth had found less than three months before the fatal encounter that Drago's PTSD hadn't been resolved.

The psychiatrist also said a female could feel physical danger while sitting in a car if an angry male was less than two feet away.