Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
Diana Kutateladze of Oceanside pleaded not guilty Friday to a 23-count indictment stemming from a fatal drunk driving crash that killed an elderly couple on the Southern State Parkway in March. The 26-year-old mother of four faces charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and vehicular manslaughter in connection with the March 15 crash that occurred after 10 p.m. near exit 17, according to prosecutors.
District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Kutateladze was driving her Escalade at more than 80 mph on the Southern State Parkway seconds before sideswiping a BMW and then going airborne across the guardrail into oncoming traffic in the eastbound lanes. The head-on collision instantly killed Bishop Donald Maxwell and his wife, the Rev. Liscent Maxwell, both in their 80s from Westbury. “They never stood a chance,” District Attorney Donnelly said during Friday’s proceedings.
Prosecutors revealed that Kutateladze’s blood alcohol content was .15 an hour after the crash, nearly double New York’s legal limit of .08. When officers at the scene asked the defendant if she had been drinking, she told them she’d had one drink with a little bit of whiskey, according to the DA’s office. Kutateladze also initially claimed she was alone in her vehicle at the time of the crash, prosecutors said.
The defendant’s husband, who was a passenger in the Escalade, suffered injuries so severe that he required a ventilator to survive the crash. More than a month later, he remains hospitalized, according to District Attorney Donnelly. The DA’s office said Kutateladze’s four children, ranging in age from 1 to 6 years old, were with their grandmother at the time of the crash.
The Maxwell couple were described as a cornerstone of their Far Rockaway church community, where they served as religious leaders. Purple bunting and a photo of the couple hung outside their church on Friday as news of the legal proceedings spread. “The defendant’s reckless, drunken actions shattered a community. The Maxwells were a cornerstone of leadership and faith,” District Attorney Donnelly said.
Kutateladze’s defense attorney noted that his client is a mother of four young children, with her oldest being 6 years old and her youngest just 1 year old. Despite this, the judge ordered Kutateladze held without bail pending her next court appearance scheduled for May 20.
Location & Road Context
The fatal crash occurred on the Southern State Parkway near exit 17, which serves the communities of Hempstead and West Hempstead in Nassau County. This section of the Southern State Parkway is a heavily traveled corridor that connects numerous Long Island communities and sees significant traffic volume during both peak and off-peak hours.
According to Long Island Traffic records, the Southern State Parkway has been the site of 339 recorded incidents in recent years, with recent activity including various roadwork projects and traffic disruptions. The parkway’s design, with concrete median barriers and guardrails, is intended to prevent cross-median crashes, making the severity of this particular incident especially notable given that Kutateladze’s vehicle went airborne over safety barriers into oncoming traffic.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The 23-count indictment against Kutateladze includes the most serious charges available under New York State law for vehicular crimes resulting in death. Aggravated vehicular homicide, the top charge, carries a potential sentence of 8⅓ to 25 years in prison and applies when a driver with a blood alcohol content above .18 causes a death, or when multiple deaths result from drunk driving.
Kutateladze entered her not guilty plea during Friday’s arraignment, with her case now moving forward in Nassau County Court. The decision to hold her without bail reflects the severity of the charges and the court’s assessment of flight risk and public safety concerns. Her next scheduled court appearance on May 20 will likely involve preliminary motions and case management issues as both sides prepare for what promises to be a lengthy legal process.
Broader Impact
The Maxwell case highlights the devastating consequences of wrong-way crashes on Long Island’s parkway system, where concrete barriers are specifically designed to prevent vehicles from crossing into opposing traffic lanes. The fact that Kutateladze’s Escalade became airborne and cleared these safety barriers at exit 17 underscores the extreme speed and force involved in this particular crash, demonstrating how impaired driving at high speeds can overcome even substantial highway safety infrastructure.