Old Westbury mom convicted of violating Leandra’s Law, DA says

An Old Westbury woman was convicted Wednesday of two felonies connected with a 2014 crash in which Nassau prosecutors said she drove while intoxicated with her 3-year-old child in the backseat.

A jury found Ariadne Tannous, 37, guilty of violating Leandra’s Law — aggravated driving while intoxicated with a minor under age 16 in the vehicle — as well as first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, both felonies, and two counts of misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas’ office said in a news release Thursday.

Tannous had been driving with her 3-year-old child on Glen Cove Road in Carle Place on the afternoon of April 4, 2014, when she rear-ended an SUV, prosecutors said.

No one was injured in the crash.

A police officer noted her glassy eyes and a “strong odor of alcohol” on her breath, the news release said. Her blood alcohol content turned out to be at least 0.20 percent, or more than double the legal limit, prosecutors said. Her license also had been previously suspended, according to prosecutors.

Tannous said at trial that the crash happened because she had been distracted by her toddler in the back seat of her car, prosecutors said.

Tannous faces a maximum of 1 1/3 years to 4 years in prison at sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 28.

“It’s a miracle nobody was injured or killed by this defendant’s incredible indifference to the lives of her own child and the public,” Singas said in a statement.

Tannous’ attorney, Joseph Lo Piccolo of Garden City, could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.