Records: Accused wrong-way driver gave varied accounts

An accused drunken driver who police say drove the wrong way down the Long Island Expressway later said she was under the impression that the collision had happened on the Northern State Parkway, according to court records.

Katelyn O'Connell, 22, of Westbury also gave varying accounts of how much she drank in the hours before she crashed into another car, records show.

In the first statement authorities said she made to police after Tuesday's pre-dawn crash, O'Connell, 22, said she drank two beers and two shots of tequila before heading to a nightclub with friends, according to court documents filed by Nassau prosecutors.

But more than two hours after the 5 a.m. collision in North Hills, O'Connell was in a Mineola hospital when she said she had two drinks with dinner, then two beers and three shots at a bar. More than two hours later, officials say O'Connell said the crash location was "east on the Northern State toward Hauppauge" and admitted to taking Vicodin, a prescription painkiller.

Officials said O'Connell, of Westbury, was alone in a 2006 Honda when she drove into the eastbound lanes of the LIE heading west shortly before 5 a.m. She was in the HOV lane when she crashed head-on with a car driven by a Queens man who was going to work, police said.

That driver, Marvin Rodriguez, 27, suffered a broken ankle. O'Connell was charged with drunken driving, reckless endangerment and assault. A Nassau prosecutor later said the felony assault charge would likely be reduced to a misdemeanor because Rodriguez' injury was not severe enough to warrant the felony.

O'Connell was also hurt and was arraigned Wednesday in her bed at Winthrop-University Hospital, where she pleaded not guilty. The extent of her injuries was not clear; police said she was conscious and speaking when officers arrived at the crash site between Exits 34 and 35.

O'Connell is scheduled to be in court Friday, but she would need medical clearance to attend.

O'Connell works as a waitress, her attorney, Keith Lavallee of Farmingdale, said Wednesday. She has no prior arrest record. Messages left for Lavallee were not returned Thursday.

The results of a portable breath test showed O'Connell had a blood-alcohol content of 0.17 percent, more than twice the legal limit.