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After Fatal Queens Crash, Driver Hid Crack Pipe In Body Cavity
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 28, 2009
Modified Oct 28, 2009
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 28, 2009
Modified Oct 28, 2009
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The Queens woman who steered a van full of foster children into oncoming traffic Monday night had alcohol in her system and a crack pipe in her... possession, investigators say. The horrific crash claimed the lives of two of the five children in the van, but driver Sheila Bethea, 45, survived. Yesterday prosecutors charged her with manslaughter, assault, and endangering the welfare of a child. One witness tells the Times the crash "sounded like a truck hit a building."
Bethea’s Mazda minivan crossed a double yellow line on a street in St. Albans and collided with an oncoming Toyota minivan just before 5 p.m. Monday. Police say she was driving 70 mph and two of the children were seated on the floor because the middle row of seats had been removed. It's not clear if those are the two children who died, but the victims have been identified as Catherine Willis, 15, and Melissa Elhmer-Mirra, 5. Another child is in intensive care in a medically induced coma, and the other two girls, a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old, were released from the hospital yesterday. All five girls in the car were foster children in the care of Bethea's mother.
At the hospital, it was discovered that Bethea had hidden a crack pipe, wrapped in tissue, in a body cavity, the Times reports. About an hour and a half after the crash, tests showed that she had a 0.03 percent blood alcohol level, below the 0.08 percent legal definition of intoxication. Six years ago, she was convicted of driving while impaired after she refused to submit to a chemical test, but she regained her license in July. Bethea also had two other priors for possession of crack cocaine, according to WCBS.
After the crash, Bethea was seen "wobbling" around and saying, "I was going too fast, I was going too fast." The Queens DA has issued a search warrant for the blood that was taken from Bethea in order to test for drug use. The passenger in the other minivan sustained a severe head injury and may lose the use of one of her eyes; the driver was treated and released.
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foster care
queens crash
st albans
van
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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