Woman Drove On Drugs W/ 4-Year-Old Daughter In Car: Suffolk Police

COMMACK, NY — A woman was arrested in connection with a crash she was in when driving while impaired by drugs in Commack on Tuesday, Suffolk police said. She had her 4-year-old daughter in the car with her, police said.

Kristine Mazza, 33, of Smithtown, was driving a 2005 Hyundai southbound on Harned Road, near Cutchogue Lane, when she rear-ended another vehicle at approximately 9:50 a.m., police said.

Officers determined that Mazza was under the influence of drugs, police said. Her daughter was unharmed in the backseat of the Hyundai, police said.

Mazza was transported to St. Catherine of Sienna Medical Center in Smithtown and later brought to the Fourth Precinct, where she was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child passenger 15 years old or younger (Leandra’s Law), driving while under the influence of drugs, second-degree criminal contempt and endangering the welfare of a child.

Her daughter was released to a family member, police said.

Mazza was held overnight at the Fourth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.

Leandra's Law is a felony charge given to people who drive drunk while a child under 16 is in the car. The law was named in memory of 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed when an SUV she and seven other children were riding in crashed on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan in October 2009, according to the state. Leandra was the only person to die in the crash. Her father championed the law.