Judge dubs crash suspect a 'flight risk' as victim's family mourns

A judge called a Freeport woman a "flight risk" while setting bail Monday for the alleged drunken driver who authorities said tried to walk away from a weekend parkway crash that killed a mother of three and left the victim's 8-year-old son with a broken arm.

Nassau District Court Judge Karen Moroney ordered motorist Nicole Pollock, 26, jailed in lieu of $200,000 bond, $100,000 cash or $1 million partially secured bond after the woman's not-guilty plea to charges including DWI and felony assault. 

The Hempstead arraignment came as the family of Lissette Jimenez struggled to cope with losing the 39-year-old certified nursing assistant who worked at NYU Winthrop Hospital and would have celebrated her second wedding anniversary Monday, according to her daughter, Ashley Villatoro. 

Villatoro, 18, said her mother, and her mother's husband had planned to spend the day registering the GMC Terrain he bought her to mark the occasion. But the vehicle remained parked in the victim's South Hempstead driveway Monday without license plates.

Villatoro said her little brother, Brandon Guzman, had screws implanted in his broken left elbow and is home from the hospital. But he is still in shock, she said, after surviving the crash that killed their mother, whose oldest child is a son, age 20.  

"When I told him the news  ... he didn't even have tears. He just heaved and heaved. ... I told him, 'It's OK to cry and it's OK not to cry. As long as you understand what's going on ... you could talk about things when you're ready,' " Villatoro recalled telling Brandon. 

State Police said the wreck happened at 12:02 a.m. Sunday on the northbound side of the Meadowbrook State Parkway near Exit M7.

Pollock was driving a 2012 Nissan Rogue at about 100 mph when her vehicle hit the back of Jimenez’s 2006 Kia, according to authorities, who said the Kia went onto the shoulder and hit a tree.

Pollock had a strong smell of alcohol on her breath, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and poor coordination, a felony complaint said.

Records show police charged Pollock with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree assault, second-degree vehicular assault, DWI, reckless driving and traffic offenses including speeding.

The judge said in court and online court records showed later that Pollock also faces a charge of unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation.

Moroney said Pollock's charges included "a bail-qualifying offense" and set bail after prosecutor Christine Geier said witnesses had shouted to police that Pollock was trying to walk away as authorities were trying to help the 8-year-old.

Geier said police ran after Pollock and she “fought with the sergeant” and “slipped out of a handcuff” before she was “taken to the ground” and arrested.

"Clearly this is indicating that she's a flight risk," Moroney said.

Police said the victim died at Nassau University Medical Center — where her family said she was born — and her son went to Cohen Children's Medical Center for treatment.

Defense attorney Leo Yakubov asked for Pollock to be released on her own recognizance, saying she had no prior criminal history, a bachelor’s degree and the same job for about three years. He and Pollock's supporters didn't comment after court.

Jimenez's family gathered later to remember the woman her daughter described as someone who gave great advice and had a contagious laugh.

Villatoro couldn't hold back tears as she wore her mother's wedding and engagement rings and tried to describe her family's loss as her grandmother, Rosa Quintanilla, 63, cried next to her.

"My mother took my heart with her," she said, before adding of Pollock: "No matter how many years she spends behind bars, no one will bring me back my mother."