School official jailed for DWI, assault

An Amityville middle school assistant principal will spend 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drunken driving and assault charges Thursday.

Steven Lindenfeld, 36, of Bethpage, wept as he apologized to the two families who were riding in the van he hit when he veered out of his lane while driving on Merrick Road in Seaford in February 2010.

Two mothers and their four children, who were returning from a sledding trip, were injured, prosecutors said.

"You are part of our community that teaches our children," Rob Crozier, husband of one of the women and the father of three of the children, addressed Lindenfeld in the courtroom. "You should be teaching them the right thing."

Lindenfeld told the families that he is deeply sorry.

"I can't apologize enough," he said. "I've spent my career working with children. The fact that four children were in that car has eaten away at me for the last year and a half."

Lindenfeld's lawyer, Anthony Colleluori of Melville, said his client had an allergic reaction to yeast in his Scotch and blacked out after a single drink.

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He called Lindenfeld a model citizen and said he shouldn't be sent to jail despite agreeing to the plea deal.

Prosecutor Gerald McClosky said Lindenfeld's blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit -- recorded at 0.18 at the scene -- as he crossed the center line in his Lexus and crashed head-on into the van. The legal limit is 0.08.

Everyone in the van was hurt, suffering injuries from separated shoulders to herniated discs, McClosky said.

At the time of the crash, Lindenfeld was an assistant principal at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School in Amityville.

He is now listed as assistant principal at the Edmund W. Milles Middle School on the school's website.

A call to the school was not returned late Thursday.