What Happened
Kelyse Land, 26, of Valley Stream pleaded guilty on Monday, July 20, 2026, to aggravated vehicular assault and three additional charges stemming from a drunken, wrong-way crash on Hempstead Avenue that seriously injured two teenagers nearly a year earlier, according to a press release from the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
At approximately 11:45 p.m. on Friday, July 25, 2025, Land was driving her 2003 Nissan on Hempstead Avenue when she crossed over double yellow lane lines and steered directly into oncoming traffic. The victims — a teenage driver and a teenage passenger — were stopped at a red light in their 2022 BMW when Land’s vehicle struck them head-on. The force of the collision was severe enough to push the BMW into a third car.
The teenage driver of the BMW suffered multiple hand and wrist fractures along with lacerations that required more than three dozen stitches. That victim is now left with permanent limited wrist mobility, according to the Nassau County DA. The passenger was treated separately for a concussion and a sprained ankle. Nassau County Police Department officers arrested Land at the scene shortly after the crash.
Blood drawn from Land approximately three hours after the collision revealed a blood alcohol content of .17% — more than double New York State’s legal limit of .08%. A reverse extrapolation analysis subsequently determined her BAC was between .185% and .26% at the actual moment of impact. Investigators also determined she was under the influence of marijuana. Perhaps most damning among the physical evidence: an empty 50 ML bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label scotch whiskey was recovered from Land’s own pocket at the scene.
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly framed the case in stark terms. “This defendant was more than twice the legal limit for alcohol and under the influence of marijuana when she drove the wrong way on Hempstead Avenue, crashing into two teenagers stopped at a red light,” DA Donnelly said, per the Nassau County DA’s Office announcement. “Her decision to drive home drunk and high from a bar caused permanent damage to one victim’s wrist and various other injuries. She is lucky that her complete disregard for public safety did not end up costing a life.”
Land entered her guilty plea on July 20, 2026, before Nassau County Judge Helene Gugerty. The four counts to which she pleaded guilty are: Aggravated Vehicular Assault (a C felony), Assault in the Second Degree (a D violent felony), Assault in the Third Degree (an A misdemeanor), and Driving Under the Combined Influence of Alcohol and Drugs (an unclassified misdemeanor).
Location & Road Context
Hempstead Avenue is a heavily traveled surface road running through central Nassau County, connecting communities including Valley Stream, Malverne, West Hempstead, and Hempstead itself. Our Nassau County accident database contains 894 recorded incidents in the county, reflecting the volume and variety of crashes that occur on its dense network of commercial corridors and residential roads. Hempstead Avenue, with its mix of signalized intersections, driveways, and through-traffic, is among the roads where driver behavior at late-night hours carries particularly high risk for oncoming vehicles.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Taglienti of the Nassau County DA’s Vehicular Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Daryl Levy. Land is represented by defense attorney Aaron Wallenstein, Esq.
DA Donnelly’s office recommended a sentence of 4 to 9 years in prison; however, Land is expected to receive a sentence of 2 to 6 years. She is due back before Judge Gugerty on September 28, 2026, for formal sentencing. DA Donnelly stated that her prosecutors “diligently worked every facet of the case to ensure that this defendant was held fully accountable for her crimes and the pain and suffering she caused.”
Broader Impact
A conviction for Aggravated Vehicular Assault — a Class C felony in New York — carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison, which illustrates the gap between what the Nassau County DA sought (4 to 9 years) and the 2-to-6-year term Land is expected to receive. The permanent wrist injury sustained by the teenage driver underscores that DWI crashes frequently leave victims with lifelong consequences even when no fatality occurs — a pattern reflected in other recent Nassau County cases, including a nearby DWI sentencing on July 20, 2026 involving a crash that proved fatal.