Fatal wrong-way crash highlights dangers of Southern State Parkway, Long Island's leader in collisions

A five-car crash that involved 10 people and killed two on the Southern State Parkway near Malverne Sunday has renewed residents’ concerns about safety along the state thoroughfare that has consistently had the highest number of crashes of any single Long Island road in recent years.

The 25.5-mile parkway saw 137 people killed and 846 seriously injured in more than 42,700 collisions between 2012 and 2023, according to a Newsday analysis last year. Adjusted for traffic, the Southern State had about twice as many crashes as the Northern State Parkway or Long Island Expressway in 2023, the analysis found. Among major roads, only Sunrise Highway had a higher rate.

Diana Kutateladze, 36, of Oceanside, was arraigned Tuesday for aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges in Sunday’s crash. Police said she was intoxicated when she sideswiped another vehicle in her SUV at around 10:15 p.m., spun out and launched over a metal median guardrail into oncoming traffic. The crash killed husband and wife Donald and Liscent Barbara Maxwell, both in their 80s, who led a Far Rockaway church and lived in Westbury.

Brittany Burton, a spokeswoman for New York State Police, which patrols the parkways, said in a statement, "We are consistently reviewing data to see where and when to add more troopers to certain areas at peak times. Every road is dangerous when drivers are drunk, distracted or speeding."

But Jean-Pierre Clejan, a resident of Franklin Square, said he thinks the state police need to do more. He’s long been concerned about speeding on the Southern State, he said, where he often witnesses groups of racers late at night "weav[ing] in and out, leaving inches behind and in front of my car."

Other Long Islanders have repeatedly brought up the Southern State Parkway in Newsday's online traffic safety forum, mentioning a need for more ticketing of speeders who act as if they are "in a NASCAR race," as one reader described it.

Police long ago dubbed the 10-mile stretch of the Southern State Parkway roughly between Exits 17 and 31 "Blood Alley" for its high rate of deadly crashes. Newsday's analysis shows Southern State Parkway crashes rose 23% between 2012 and 2024, which may be due in part to increasing traffic volumes on the parkway.

Robert Sinclair Jr., of AAA Northeast, said part of the issue is that the Southern State, built around a century ago, is poorly designed for its current use as a high-speed arterial road.

"The Southern State Parkway predates modern transportation engineering," he said. "The road undulates too much. It's too twisty, and there are blind hills — you get to the top of the hill, you can't see down the road. ... Not only are the entrance and exit ramps short, often they mix traffic that's getting on the road with traffic that's getting off road."

Stephen Canzoneri, a spokesman for the state Transportation Department, which maintains the parkway, declined to address why the Southern State has so many crashes, citing the ongoing investigation into Sunday's specific crash.

"We continuously review safety measures in place on all our highways, including the Southern State Parkway," Canzoneri said. "However, safety is everyone’s responsibility and we urge motorists to drive responsibly, remain alert and do not drink and drive."

Assemb. Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) has introduced a bill to designate the Southern State a highway safety corridor — a concept used in other states allowing for increased fines, more patrolling, signage and speed cameras, which are otherwise only allowed in work zones on Long Island. It remains in committee.

Newsday’s crash map shows that within the half-mile stretch where Sunday’s crash occurred, there were three serious injury crashes in 2024 and at least two in 2025.

A video captured by a witness and posted on social media showed the aftermath: a trail of cars pointing in all directions, shards of glass, crumpled steel and an injured man limping away.

"Wow," the video-taker says again and again.

"Increased law enforcement, that would that would help a lot," Sinclair said, adding that changes to the design of the parkway could be beneficial but costly, requiring "a lot of engineering, a lot of construction, a whole lot of work.

"It's incumbent on the drivers to treat that road with a high level of respect," he said. 

By Peter Gill

peter.gill@newsday.com