Woman who worked as Uber driver high on drugs when she crashed into motorcycle, killing passenger, DA says.

A Glen Cove woman who worked as an Uber driver was indicted on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide and manslaughter for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs when she struck a motorcycle, killing one of its two riders, prosecutors said.

Nina Varrino, 52, fell asleep behind the wheel of her 2025 Kia Sportage before she crashed into a 64-year-old male motorcycle operator and his wife, Lisa Pelaez, 58, of Queens, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. Pelaez died of her injuries hours after the crash and her husband was severely injured but survived. Varrino was not working as an Uber driver at the time of the crash.

But Varrino was "high on cocaine and Xanax" when the July 12 crash happened, according to a release from Donnelly’s office. Her blood revealed "active levels" of both substances around four hours after the crash. The prior evening, she worked as an Uber driver and then stayed up, partied, drank alcohol and ingested drugs, the release said.

Defense attorney Jason Russo told Newsday his client "adamantly denies" having taken drugs ahead of the crash. She pleaded not guilty Wednesday at her arraignment on an indictment also charging her with second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter and other counts.

"Because she was tired, she fell asleep, and the accident happened," Russo said. He added that during her arraignment, Varrino "insisted this was nothing but a tragic accident. She has a lot of remorse and a lot of sensitivity to the family that she affected."

About 12:49 p.m. on July 12, Varrino was driving on the South Service Road of the Long Island Expressway between New Hyde Park Road and Shelter Rock Road in North Hills when she hit the 2010 Harley Davidson motorcycle carrying Pelaez and her husband, whom the district attorney did not identify. The couple was ejected from the motorcycle. Both vehicles were "fully engulfed in flames" after the crash, the district attorney’s office said. 

Pelaez suffered blunt force trauma and was transported to North Shore University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Donnelly said. Her husband sustained "multiple broken ribs, a fractured spine, fractures to both shoulders, and a collapsed lung requiring surgery and intubation for approximately 10 days after the crash," the release said. He spent one month in the hospital.

Varrino sustained minor injuries and "managed to climb out of the car," the release said.

Investigators determined that about one hour and 20 minutes prior to the fatal collision, Varrino "was allegedly driving erratically on the Cross Island Parkway, pulled over on the shoulder" and told by witnesses "that she should not be driving," Donnelly’s office said. A few minutes later, she allegedly rear-ended another vehicle on Marathon Parkway in Queens before the fatal crash.

"For miles along multiple busy highways and roads this defendant recklessly drove while allegedly high on drugs," Donnelly said in a statement. "She was even told by bystanders to stop driving, but the defendant did not heed those words, and ultimately, drove on a fatal collision course with Lisa Pelaez and her husband. ... Had this defendant just pulled off the road, stopped driving, and thought for a moment about the lives she was endangering, Lisa would still be with her family."

Nassau County police arrested Varrino on Wednesday, Donnelly said. The other charges include two counts of second-degree assault, first-degree vehicular assault, second-degree vehicular assault, two counts of driving while ability impaired by drugs, driving while ability impaired by combined drugs and reckless driving. Judge Helene F. Gugerty ordered her remanded without bail. She is scheduled to appear back in court March 20.