Jakeline Figueroa, of Levittown, pleads not guilty to striking cyclist on triathlon route

A Levittown woman was arraigned Wednesday on a six-count indictment, including an updated felony assault charge, for allegedly striking a bicyclist as she speeded through a triathlon route at Smith Point County Park in August.

Jakeline Figueroa, 29, pleaded not guilty and was freed on supervised release following the proceeding before State Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro, who ordered her license suspended pending the outcome of the case.

Prosecutors said Figueroa, who has a prior DWI conviction in Nassau County, struck Sal Gomez, 43, of Selden as she attempted to make a turn to exit the Shirley park where he was competing.

Gomez suffered a traumatic brain injury after being propelled into the windshield of Figueroa's 2023 Nissan Rogue before falling to the pavement.

“This assault could have been avoided,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “There was no need for this defendant to allegedly drive while speeding inside of a parking lot even if there was not a race taking place. Motorists must always remain cautious and prudent while driving to avoid endangering the lives of pedestrians.”

Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcombe said Figueroa was driving at a speed “not prudent for that location” and through a stop bar on the pavement into an area designated for race participants.

Figueroa is charged with felony second-degree assault. She is also charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree reckless driving, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, circumvention of an interlock device, which are misdemeanors, and a speeding infraction. The assault charge carries a maximum penalty of 7 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Figueroa was driving in another person’s vehicle, bypassing the court-ordered interlock device in her own car since her DWI conviction in 2022.

Defense attorney Michael J. Brown of Central Islip said the interlock device was no longer required in Figueroa’s vehicle since more than a year had passed since the order, but she hadn’t taken the steps necessary to have it removed. She was at the oceanfront park watching the sunrise with a group of friends before the early morning crash occurred, Brown said. He said his client was already in the roped-off area with no knowledge of the race when she was attempting to leave the park.

“She was unaware that there was this triathlon going on,” Brown told Newsday. “She had arrived at that parking lot well before they set it up. And the setup was nominal. So there was very little signage and indications that there was this event going on.”

Brown said the bicycle struck the car and not the other way around, as prosecutors have described.

“This was an unfortunate accident,” the defense attorney told the judge as he pleaded with him to allow Figueroa, who he said is the mother of a 10-year-old child, to continue to drive.

Ambro said the issue of who struck whom is “the ultimate determination for trial.”

“Nonetheless, she’s been indicted on a charge of reckless assault in connection with striking the bicyclist,” Ambro said in explaining his reason for the suspension.

Brown said his client, who did not speak outside of court, “so regrets that this accident happened.”

“But it’s not criminal in nature,” Brown said.

Newcombe told the judge Figueroa has shown in the past two years that she’s a “danger to the citizens of Long Island when she’s operating a motor vehicle.”

Gomez suffered fractures to his skull, wrist, spine, leg and ankle. He is recuperating at home from his “long-term injuries,” the prosecutor said. He was not present in court Wednesday.

Figueroa is due back in court Jan. 30.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.