Judge vacates Lynbrook woman's plea in fatal DWI case

A deal that would have sent a Lynbrook woman to state prison for 11/3 to four years for a fatal drunken driving crash was derailed yesterday when Acting Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof said he could not in "good conscience" go along with the agreement.

Honorof did not state a reason for vacating the plea, according to Patricia Bregel's's lawyer Salvatore Marinello of Mineola.

Bregel, 34, pleaded guilty in March to causing the crash that killed Timothy J. Motherway, 35, who was making a left turn into the parking lot of his apartment building on Atlantic Avenue in East Rockaway, police said.

In addition to second-degree manslaughter, she pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter and two counts of driving while intoxicated.

Daniel Bagnuola, courts spokesman, said plea deals are subject to presentencing and probation reports. In this case, Honorof was influenced by those reports as well as letters from the Motherway and Bregel families, Bagnuola said. "The judge became aware of new circumstances after seeing the presentence report and the probation report," Bagnuola said.

It was not clear what the reports said about Bregel. Marinello said there may have been a disputed claim in the reports about how fast Bregel was driving at the time of the accident. He also said Honorof pointed to "other reasons" for vacating the plea but the judge did not elaborate.

Marinello said Honorof should honor the plea deal and plans to file a motion to force him to do so. If the motion fails, Bregel may go to a jury trial where, if convicted, she will face up to 15 years in state prison. Her next court date is July 22.

"We have been consistent in our recommendation that this defendant serve a sentence of two to six years in prison, so we are pleased that the court has seen fit to vacate its prior decision," said DA spokesman Chris Munzing.

A legal observer said judges can change their minds based on what they learn after making the original plea commitment.

"There are many, many things that can come up. The judge could say 'I now realize what I didn't realize when I made this tentative commitment, so I am vacating the plea,' " said Ken Rosenblum, assistant dean at Touro Law School and former Suffolk County prosecutor.

But Bregel's mother, Elizabeth, of Lynbrook, said the family was disappointed. "We were upset that he vacated the plea as promised to us."

The Motherway family could not be reached for comment.

Bregel has spent the past nine months in a voluntary alcohol rehab program and wanted to begin her sentence, Marinello said. "My client is totally distraught," Marinello said. "She doesn't want to stay out of jail anymore."