Kerri Bedrick pleaded not guilty to allegations of driving while on drugs that caused a wrong-way crash that killed her passenger — her 9-year-old son. Prosecutors also said her license has been suspended dozens of times, and she has a history of allegations of driving under the influence. NBC New York’s Jessica Cunnington reports.
A 32-year-old woman has been indicted in the alleged drug-fueled wrong-way wreck that took the life of her 9-year-old son and demolished four vehicles on Long Island's Southern State Parkway last week, the Suffolk County district attorney's office confirmed Wednesday.
Kerri Bedrick had an expired license and 56 prior suspensions, along with methamphetamine pills in her vehicle, when her son died in the back seat, prosecutors have said. She also allegedly admitted taking the pills about four and a half hours before the deadly collision, calling them her medication, according to a criminal complaint.
According to her attorney, Bedrick needs medication due to the spina bifida and epilepsy she suffers from. He also said that she is a victim of domestic violence. The attorney asked for mental and physical support for his client.
Hours after Thursday's wreck in Islip, Bedrick pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges including aggravated unlicensed operation, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, aggravated DWI with a child-passenger less than 16, endangering welfare of a child, and criminal possession of a stimulant.
She appeared in a wheelchair for that court hearing. Authorities had said she wasn't badly hurt, nor were the people in the other vehicles.
Authorities allege Bedrick refused to stop when officers spotted her driving the wrong way prior to the crash and instead sped up. They claim it appears she was driving the wrong way on Sunrise Highway before she went onto the Southern State Parkway. She had a blood test done when she was taken to the hospital; the results weren't clear.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Bedrick, who was charged in 2012 with DWI and trying to flee police, was ordered held on $2 million bond after her initial arraignment earlier this month.
Local
Afterward, Bedrick's mother told NBC New York outside of court that her grandson was a "sweet, sweet boy" and that her daughter "loves him so much." When she was asked if she thought her daughter's medical problems may have played a role in the deadly crash, she said "I think so."
