Island Park woman drove drunk with 6 children in minivan, Nassau police say

Nassau police arrested an Island Park woman late Wednesday and charged her with violating Leandra’s Law after they said she was driving while drunk with six children in a minivan, officials said.

Theresa Viola, 52, was charged with six counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated, six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and driving while intoxicated with a previous conviction, police said in a news release.

At about 11:45 p.m., Viola was driving a 2015 Kia Sedona eastbound on Delaware Avenue in Island Park when police received a 911 call for a disturbance. Officers responded and pulled Viola over on Ostend Avenue and observed that she had “blood shot eyes, slurred speech and the odor of alcohol,” officials said.

At the time of the stop, police said, Viola had two boys and four girls ranging in age from 11 to 14 years old in the minivan. They were released into the custody of a relative at the scene, police said.

Viola is scheduled to be arraigned Friday. It was unclear Thursday whether Viola she had retained an attorney.