Dina Lohan, sentenced in drunken driving case, vows 'there won't be a next time'
Attorney Mark Heller and Dina Lohan leave Nassau County District Court in Hempstead, where Lohan had her license suspended for a year for drunk driving, on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan
Dina Lohan told a Nassau judge Tuesday "there won't be a next time" before he suspended her driver's license for a year, fined her $2,600 and admonished the mother of actress Lindsay Lohan for driving drunk last year on the Northern State Parkway.
District Court Judge Andrew Engel also ordered Dina Lohan, 51, of Merrick, to install an alcohol ignition interlock device on any vehicle she owns or operates when her driving privileges are reinstated. Lohan also must participate in a Drinking Driver Program and Victims Impact Panel by Nov. 28, Engel said.
Before imposing the sentence, Engel told Lohan the outcome could have been worse when she got behind the wheel drunk in September.
"Fortunately, you didn't kill anybody, you didn't kill yourself," Engel told Lohan, adding that if there is a next time, "you may not be so fortunate."
"There won't a next time," Lohan replied. Lohan pleaded guilty April 15 to aggravated drunken driving after her arrest for driving a BMW 77 mph in a 55-mph zone on the Northern State Parkway in Oyster Bay. She had a blood-alcohol level of .20 percent, authorities said. The limit to drive legally in New York is .08. It was her first arrest for drunken driving, her attorney said.
At that time, Engel ordered her to do 100 hours of community service before her sentencing.
Tuesday, Lohan's Manhattan attorney, Mark Jay Heller, told Engel "this has been a very onerous ordeal for her and she has really done her very best to comply with all the court's directions."
Engel told Heller that "the only person responsible for this onerous ordeal is Ms. Lohan herself."
Lohan completed the community service at a church, Heller said after the sentencing.
Outside the courthouse where Lohan and Heller spoke to reporters, a woman stood nearby and loudly reminded Lohan she was a drunken driver. Lohan didn't respond. "I just want to put this behind me," Lohan said with a smile behind white sunglasses.
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Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.
