Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
Diana Kutateladze, 36, of Oceanside, was driving a 2020 Cadillac Escalade westbound on the Southern State Parkway near Exit 17 in Malverne at approximately 10:15 p.m. Sunday when she sideswiped a BMW in the left lane, according to New York State Police. Kutateladze lost control of her vehicle and drifted over the center median into oncoming traffic, where her Escalade struck multiple vehicles before crashing head-on with a 2016 Toyota Highlander, police said.
Two passengers in the Highlander, Donald Maxwell, 82, and Liscent Barbara Maxwell, 88, were declared dead at the scene, authorities reported. The Maxwells were prominent leaders within the Pentecostal City Mission Church, an international organization with branches in the United States, Jamaica and several other countries, according to the church’s website and members. Donald Maxwell served as a bishop and pastor and overseer at the International Pentecostal City Mission in Far Rockaway, while his wife was listed as Reverend B. Maxwell and assistant pastor at the same church.
The six-vehicle collision involved a total of 10 drivers and passengers, with multiple people transported to area hospitals, police said. One person sustained critical injuries but is expected to survive, according to authorities. Kutateladze remained hospitalized at Mount Sinai South Nassau as of Monday and has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony assault and driving while intoxicated. Investigators believe Kutateladze was both speeding and impaired at the time of the crash, police said.
The Maxwell couple was beloved within their religious community, where they were often affectionately referred to as “mom and dad,” according to Bronx resident Althea Reid, who serves as choir director at a Brooklyn branch of the Pentecostal City Mission church. “It’s a blow to the church,” Reid said in a phone interview regarding the couple’s deaths. “It’s a hard blow.” She described the pair as “very dedicated, hard-working, people who cared, people who love the brethren” who had been worshipping together before the fatal crash.
An April 29, 2020 post on the church’s website celebrated Reverend B. Maxwell’s birthday, stating: “Happiest of birthdays to our beloved Rev. B. Maxwell!!! We love you, we appreciate you, we thank God for you!” The church was locked Monday with no one available for comment. A woman outside the couple’s home Monday afternoon who identified herself as related to the victims declined to speak with reporters.
First responders worked extensively at the crash scene Sunday night, with multiple emergency vehicles responding to the multi-vehicle collision. The impact of the head-on collision was severe enough to cause fatal injuries to both passengers in the Toyota Highlander, while other vehicles involved sustained varying degrees of damage from the chain-reaction crash that began when Kutateladze’s Escalade first sideswiped the BMW.
Location & Road Context
The crash occurred on the Southern State Parkway near Exit 17 in Malverne, a stretch of road that has recorded 123 incidents in traffic databases. Recent incidents on the Southern State Parkway include overnight roadwork for crack sealing, as well as previous fatal crashes that have highlighted ongoing safety concerns on this major Long Island thoroughfare. The parkway serves as a crucial east-west corridor connecting communities across Nassau and Suffolk counties.
The specific location near Exit 17 places the crash in a heavily traveled section of the parkway that sees significant commuter and local traffic throughout the day and evening hours. The westbound lanes where Kutateladze was initially traveling before crossing the center median carry traffic toward New York City and western Nassau County communities.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
A scheduled hospital arraignment for Kutateladze at Mount Sinai South Nassau was postponed as of Monday, with prosecutors indicating that a criminal complaint was not yet available, according to court records. No defense attorney was listed in online court records as of Monday. The serious nature of the charges reflects the severity of the incident, with aggravated vehicular homicide representing one of the most serious traffic-related criminal charges under New York law.
New York State Police are actively seeking additional information about the crash and have asked anyone with information or video footage of the incident to contact state police investigator Jeffrey Shillingford at 212-814-9597. The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the fatal collision.
Broader Impact
The fatal crash contributes to Long Island’s substance-related traffic fatality statistics, occurring in a year when the region saw relatively lower numbers of such incidents. In 2024, Long Island recorded 28 deadly substance-related crashes reported by police, marking the lowest figure since 2015, when 143 such crashes occurred, according to the Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research. The institute defines substance-related crashes using several factors, including police reports indicating involvement of alcohol, prescription medication or illicit drugs, making this latest incident part of ongoing efforts to track and reduce impaired driving fatalities across the region.