Mother pleads not guilty in wrong-way crash that left 9-year-old son dead on Long Island
CENTRAL ISLIP, Long Island (WABC) -- Kerri Bedrick, the Long Island mother accused of killing her 9-year-old son in a wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway, pleaded not guilty during a court hearing on Friday.
She was in a wheelchair when she was brought into arraignment court in Central Islip, where she pleaded not guilty to felony aggravated DWI and operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs.
Prosecutors say Bedrick was drunk and high on drugs while behind the wheel and drove the wrong direction for five miles on the Southern State Parkway before causing a four-car crash.
A drug recognition expert at the hospital determined Bedrick was on drugs when she crashed on the Southern State Parkway early Thursday, prosecutors told the judge.
The determination comes after investigating officers found pills in her car.
Bedrick said she took methamphetamines at 8 p.m. the night before and was also under the influence of alcohol.
She has two prior DWI arrests and was driving without a license.
Prosecutors said her driver's license had been suspended 56 times in the past.
But Bedrick's attorney portrayed his client as a victim and asked for "a more reasonable bail" so she can attend her son's funeral.
She suffers from spina bifida and narcolepsy, and was seeking various treatments. He said she is also a domestic violence victim.
"My client was a victim. She was on medication that was prescribed for her," the lawyer said. "She is in denial, has not absorbed what happened to her and her son's death."
Meanwhile, the judge said this was one of the worst cases to come before his bench.
"In my 39 years, this is probably one of the most tragic cases that I've been involved in," the judge told Bedrick.
Outside the court was Bedrick's mother, Diane Bedrick, also the grandmother of 9-year-old Eli Henrys.
"He was a sweet boy," Diane Bedrick said. "She loved him."
Neighbors say the young victim loved the water, and just like Henry's grandmother, they are devastated.
"It's just so sad. They had a whole life to live," said neighbor Arthur Davis.
Davis says he would see Henrys when the boy visited his grandmother.
"Oh, he was jumping around and bubbly, and full of life," Davis said.
Kerri Bedrick will be held on $1 million cash bail.
Bedrick is due back in court on August 29. The case will be presented to a grand jury, where charges will likely be upgraded.
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