Cops: Woman charged in Selden hit-run
A 15-year-old boy suffered a head injury, after he was struck by a vehicle in Selden, police said. Credit: David Rubin
A Medford woman and a Bay Shore man were arrested Saturday night after the woman hit a teenage pedestrian with her car in Selden, seriously injuring him, left and returned with a man who the two claimed had been the driver, Suffolk County police said.
Milissa O'Brien, 39, of 54 Cedar Lane, was driving a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier west on Middle Country Road at 8:30 p.m. when she hit a 16-year-old boy with her car near Marshall Drive, police said.
Police said O'Brien fled, returning soon with a male passenger, Anthony Bonello, 40, of 38 Louisiana Ave. O'Brien and Bonello told police that Bonello had been the one driving at the time of the crash, but an investigation found that the two were lying, police said.
O'Brien was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an incident involving serious physical injury, third-degree false reporting and driving with a suspended license. Bonello was arrested and charged with third-degree false reporting.
The boy suffered head injuries from the impact and was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition, police said.
According to court documents, police said O'Brien told them: "I heard a thump. The windshield cracked, and I said, 'Did I just hit him?' "
The documents said O'Brien told police she didn't have a valid driver's license and knew she wasn't supposed to be driving. She said she told them that Bonello was the driver because "I thought I was going to jail," the court papers said.
Documents said O'Brien's license has been suspended at least three times when she failed to come to court to answer driving-related offenses.
At her arraignment Sunday at First District Court in Central Islip, O'Brien was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond. She is due back in court Friday. Bonello posted bail and will be arraigned later, police said.
An attorney was appointed for her by the court. Prosecutors had asked for $150,000 bail.
Middle Country Road/Route 25/Jericho Turnpike was listed as the third most deadly road for pedestrians in the region in a report issued last month by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
