Cassandra Panetta, 41, of Plainview, charged with manslaughter in East Meadow crash
The scene of an Aug. 10 two-car crash at Carman Avenue and Salisbury Park Drive in East Meadow after which a 55-year-old man died. Credit: John Scalesi
A Plainview woman has been indicted on manslaughter and other charges for allegedly running a red light, striking a car and killing one of its passengers while high on methamphetamine, Nassau County officials said.
Cassandra Panetta, 41, pleaded not guilty Friday to a litany of charges stemming from an Aug. 10 collision in East Meadow that killed Steven Diamond, 55, of Farmingdale, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a news release.
Around 1 p.m. on Aug. 10, Donnelly said, Panetta was driving on Carman Avenue toward her Plainview home 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 Park Drive onto Carman Avenue, according to Donnelly. Panetta’s vehicle crashed into the rear driver’s side of the turning car, which Nassau police previously identified as a 2024 Nissan Altima.
The Altima “sustained heavy damage” from the impact, reads a release from Donnelly’s office. Diamond, the car’s backseat passenger, “was in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at the scene” the district attorney’s office said.
Diamond was pronounced dead at Nassau County Medical Center in East Meadow at 3:13 p.m. that day.
The driver of the Altima “suffered a concussion,” while the front-seat passenger suffered “minor injuries,” the release reads. Nassau police previously identified the driver as a 57-year-old woman and the front-seat passenger as a 56-year-old woman.
Panetta sustained a fractured wrist, according to the district attorney.
Testing of Panetta’s blood “revealed the presence of methamphetamine and amphetamine,” Donnelly’s release reads.
“Steven Diamond’s life was senselessly cut short because of conduct that was as reckless as it was preventable,” Donnelly said in a statement.
In a telephone interview Friday, Michael DerGarabedian, Panetta’s defense attorney, said prosecutors “forgot to tell the grand jury that the ambulatory crew” administered “fentanyl, OxyContin and morphine” to Panetta as she was transported to a hospital. He described his client’s case as “interesting.”
“At the arraignment, [a prosecutor] said on the record that [Panetta] refused to give a blood test when she was at the scene,” DerGarabedian added. “That’s cause enough to arrest her for a DWI. They never did. Aug. 10 is when it happens … Why did they wait two months if [Diamond] died because of her actions?”
On Friday, Panetta “voluntarily” surrendered to Nassau police to attend her arraignment, DerGarabedian said.
Panetta pleaded not guilty before acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty at Nassau County Court in Mineola to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree assault, third-degree assault, driving while ability impaired by drugs and reckless driving, according to the district attorney’s office. Gugerty ordered Panetta held on $500,000 cash bail, $750,000 bond or $1 million partially secured bond. The Plainview woman is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 4.
If convicted on the top count, Panetta faces up to 7 to 15 years in prison, according to the district attorney.
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