Judge Orders Driver In Meadowbrook Crash To Undergo Evaluation

Cindy Sanchez, the 15-year-old driver in the horrific Meadowbrook State Parkway crash last week that left three teens dead, faced a judge for the first time today, and was ordered to undergo physical and psychological evaluation.

Sanchez was arraigned in Nassau County Family Court Monday morning on three charges of second-degree manslaughter and three charges of criminally negligent homicide in the deaths of Herbert Leo Aviles Maravilla, 16, Marlon Carbajal, 15, and David Sanchez, 13, Cindy Sanchez's younger brother.

According to Newsday, the prosecution asked the judge to remand Sanchez into juvenile detention, saying that she has a history of truancy and associations with gang members. But Sanchez's attorney, James Toner of Mineola, asked that she be released to her mother.

However, the judge ordered Sanchez to undergo physical and psychiatric evaluation at a hospital before her next court day of July 3, Newsday reported.

News 12 reported that Sanchez and her friends, all students at Uniondale High School, had planned to skip school the day of the crash and go to Jones Beach. Toner said that Sanchez was driving because the designated driver was drunk or high.

According to state police, Sanchez was driving a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer south on the Meadowbrook State Parkway around 11:45 a.m. on Friday, June 8 when she lost control of the car and it overturned multiple times. There were 10 people in the car, including her 18-month-old son, Gael Sanchez. The other five passengers in the car all received minor injuries.

State police say the investigation into the crash is ongoing. Anyone who may have witnessed the car driving on the parkway and/or the accident are asked to contact the New York State Police at (631) 756-3300. All calls will remain confidential.

Photo: Nassau County Police Department