Thursday, October 1, 2026
Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Valley Stream woman was sentenced Tuesday to up to six years in prison for a drunken wrong-way crash on Hempstead Avenue in July 2025 that seriously injured the teenage driver and passenger of another vehicle.
Kelyse Land, 26, pleaded guilty July 20 before Judge Helene Gugerty to aggravated vehicular assault, a Class C felony; assault in the second degree, a Class D violent felony; assault in the third degree, a Class A misdemeanor; and driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs, an unclassified misdemeanor.
Land was sentenced to two to six years in prison. The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office had recommended a sentence of four to nine years.
“Kelyse Land had no regard for the safety of others when she got behind the wheel last July while drunk and high, and her actions caused a head-on crash that seriously injured a pair of teenagers,” Donnelly said in a statement. “Drunk or impaired driving has been an epidemic for too long in Nassau County, and my office has worked closely with law enforcement for years to curb this behavior with serious consequences.”
Donnelly said that at about 11:45 p.m. July 25, 2025, Land was driving a 2003 Nissan on Hempstead Avenue when she crossed double yellow lines into oncoming traffic.
Land drove into the front of a 2022 BMW as its occupants were stopped at a red light, according to the district attorney’s office. The impact caused the BMW to hit another vehicle.
The BMW driver suffered multiple hand and wrist fractures and lacerations that required more than three dozen stitches. The driver was left with permanently limited wrist mobility, according to prosecutors. The passenger was treated for a concussion and a sprained ankle.
A blood sample taken from Land about three hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol content of 0.17%, more than twice the legal limit, according to the district attorney’s office.
A reverse extrapolation analysis estimated Land’s blood alcohol content at between 0.185% and 0.26% at the time of the crash, prosecutors said.
Investigators also recovered an empty 50-milliliter bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label from Land’s pocket after the crash, according to the district attorney’s office.
Land was arrested at the scene by Nassau County police shortly after the crash.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James Taglienti of the Vehicular Crimes Bureau, under the supervision of bureau Chief Michael Bushwack and Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Daryl Levy.
Land is represented by attorney Aaron Wallenstein.
