4 hurt in Lake Grove crash, woman faces Leandra's Law charge, cops say

A 22-year-old woman was arrested and charged with aggravated drunken driving under Leandra's Law after police said she lost control of her car early Wednesday evening in Lake Grove, injuring her 75-year-old grandmother and the three young children in her grandmother's care.

Suffolk County police said neither of the women was related to the children, who were aged 7, 3 and 2.

Police described the elder woman, identified as Gail Block of Islip, as the babysitter for the three kids. The genders of the children were not released.

Police said the driver, identified as Jordan Godfrey, of Holbrook, was driving a 2018 Hyundai south on Hawkins Avenue when she lost control near Patricia Lane, veering off the road and striking a utility pole just after 5:30 p.m., injuring her grandmother and the three kids.

Block and the children were all transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Godfrey was not injured.

Police said the children were released to the custody of their mother at the hospital.

After an investigation, Fourth Squad detectives arrested Godfrey, charging her with driving while intoxicated, aggravated DWI under Leandra's Law and with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. She was held overnight at the Fourth Precinct.  Thursday at an arraignment in First District Court in Central Islip a temporary order of protection was issued against Godfrey and she was released on her own recognizance. 

Godfrey “maintains her innocence,” her attorney, George Duncan, said Thursday night. “She was not impaired by any drug, it was simply an accident.”

Leandra's Law is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, killed when the car she was riding in overturned on the Henry Hudson Parkway on Oct. 11, 2009. Six other girls, all of whom were attending a sleepover, were injured. The driver, Carmen Huertas, was charged with DWI, later pleaded guilty to all charges, and was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison.

The law, enacted in November 2009, makes it a felony, even on first offense, to drive drunk with a child under 16 years old in the vehicle.

With Antonio Planas

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”