Guilty plea in fatal hit-and-run

A Stony Brook woman Monday admitted being high on heroin nearly a year ago when she drove a sport utility vehicle that struck and killed an 11-year-old girl crossing East Main Street in Smithtown.

In a trembling voice, Maureen Lambert, 21, pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court in Riverside to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree vehicular manslaughter, driving while impaired by drugs and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the death of Courtney Renee Sipes on Nov. 24, 2009.

Assistant District Attorney Carl Borelli said Lambert likely will be sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison. The sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 8.

Courtney's parents, Tracy and Lavena Sipes, of Smithtown, and their son, Cameron, 15, sat in the gallery as Lambert pleaded guilty. Lavena Sipes appeared to cry as Borelli questioned Lambert about the fatal crash.

Later, outside court, the Sipeses thanked prosecutors for arranging the guilty plea.

Tracy Sipes choked up when asked to discuss how his family has dealt with Courtney's death.

"It can't be described," he said.

He and his wife declined to comment further until Lambert's sentencing.

Courtney was crossing East Main Street with her mother and brother two days before Thanksgiving when she was struck by a 2002 Chevy Avalanche driven by Lambert, prosecutors have said. The force of the impact knocked Courtney out of her shoes, prosecutors said.

Lambert fled the scene without stopping, prosecutors said.

She had purchased heroin and used it within an hour before the fatal crash, prosecutors said.

In court, Lambert admitted taking heroin and driving 60 mph - twice the posted speed limit - before the crash.

At first, Lambert denied realizing that she struck Courtney. Then, prompted by her attorney, Donald Silverman of Legal Aid, she changed her answer and admitted knowing the girl had been struck.

She acknowledged that she did not stop and call police and did not turn herself in to police until more than 26 hours after the fatal collision.

The Smithtown community, where Courtney was a popular student, has rallied around the Sipes family, raising money for a scholarship fund in her memory that also will promote pedestrian safety.

Since the crash, the state Department of Transportation has upgraded safety measures on Main Street, including countdown pedestrian signals, barriers on the south side of the street, and several "No Turn on Red" signs on side streets coming into the main road.

DOT figures show 359 crashes between 2003 and 2008, 16 of which involved pedestrians along a road where 33,000 vehicles travel each day, Newsday reported.

With Stacey Altherr