Crime Watch

Police: Woman drove drunk with kids in Seaford

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Nassau County Police say that a Manhattan woman drove drunk with her two children in the car while in Seaford last week.

Officers from the Highway Patrol unit arrested 38-year-old Megan Pieroni, of East 50th Street, after she was involved in multiple accidents on the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway on Aug. 26, shortly after 3 p.m.

Police say that Pieroni was driving her 2008 Jeep Cherokee southbound near Exit 12 in Plainview when she was involved in an accident and fled the scene, then got into another crash near Exit 7, again fleeing. The other driver in the second accident suffered a minor injury.

While driving near Exit 3 in Seaford, she lost control of the car and struck a guardrail, causing the vehicle to overturn. Highway Patrol officers detected alcohol on her breath, and noticed she was slurring her speech and had bloodshot eyes. According to police, a breathalyzer test issued at the scene confirmed her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit.

Pieroni had her 5-year-old son and 10-month daughter in the car. All three were taken to an area hospital to be treated for minor injuries, and the children were released to another family member. Pieroni remained in the hospital for observation.

Because she was driving with young children in the car, Pieroni faces charges under Leandra’s Law, which makes it an automatic felony to drive drunk with anyone 15 or younger. She was charged with driving while intoxicated, two counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated, endangering the welfare of a child and leaving the scene of an accident.

Pieroni was arraigned at Nassau University Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon.