9-year-old boy killed in Southern State crash; mother charged with driving while impaired with drugs, police say
This story was reported and written by John Asbury, Nicholas Grasso, Maureen Mullarkey and Lorena Mongelli.
A 9-year-old boy was killed in a wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway on Thursday and his mother has been charged with driving while impaired by drugs, state police said.
Kerri A. Bedrick, 32, of Centerport, was driving west with her son Eli D. Henrys, 9, also of Centerport, on the eastbound Southern State early Thursday morning when she collided with a car going east, police said, which led to a four-vehicle crash.
Bedrick was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, driving while impaired by drugs, felony aggravated DWI with a child under 16, and endangering the welfare of a child. She also was charged with felony possession of a stimulant.
She sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was released from Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. She was taken to be booked by state police in Brentwood. She will be held overnight and is due to be arraigned Friday morning in First District Court in Central Islip.
A deputy sheriff assigned to DWI enforcement spotted a 2022 Mitsubishi SUV driving west in the eastbound lanes of the parkway, near Carleton Avenue in Islip at Exit 43, at about 2:15 a.m., according to state police.
The deputy followed the SUV briefly with lights and sirens activated, but the car sped away, Suffolk County Deputy Undersheriff John Becker said. The deputy then entered the westbound lanes to attempt to follow the wrong-way driver in the parallel lanes.
About five miles down the parkway in North Bay Shore, the deputy came upon a four-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes, police said.
Bedrick was standing outside the Mitsubishi when state police and the sheriff deputies arrived. Police said they pulled Henrys, who was wearing a seat belt, from the backseat and performed CPR. He died at South Shore University Hospital.
The collision was so severe that it launched the Mitsubishi's engine into the woods along the parkway and caused extensive damage to the other vehicles, state police said. Two of the other drivers were treated with minor injuries; a third driver was uninjured, according to police.
In an interview, Bedrick’s mother, Diane Bedrick, said she last spoke to her daughter Wednesday, but didn’t know where she was driving from early Thursday morning before the crash.
She said she has not been able to speak to her daughter since the crash while she was hospitalized and in police custody.
“I just know I lost my grandson,” she said while her daughter was being processed by state police. “I’m just trying to get through the day. They both loved each other, and it’s going to be difficult in the future.”
Diane Bedrick, of Riverhead, said her daughter was being treated for medical issues and was on prescription medication, but she didn’t know what she was taking. She did not elaborate on her daughter’s condition.
She said her daughter was a hairdresser, but recently had been beset by her medical issues. Eli was to start fourth grade this year in Centerport.
“He was such a sweet boy and had a long life ahead of him,” Diane Bedrick said. “She adored him and he was everything to her.”
His grandmother described him as a typical little boy, who loved games and skateboarding. He also loved to be in the water and eat pancakes in the morning, she said.
“They’re both loved and we’re trying to get through this,” she said.
The 9-year-old is at least the third person to die in a wrong-way crash on Long Island this year, according to a Newsday analysis based on news releases from Long Island police agencies.
The analysis also shows that last year, there were at least five fatal wrong-way crashes on the Island.
They included a crash from May 2023 in which 14-year-old Roslyn High School tennis players Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein died after authorities said motorist Amandeep Singh hit their car.
Singh, 35, was heading the wrong way on North Broadway in Jericho while allegedly drunk. He has pleaded not to guilty to charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and drunken driving.
Other wrong-way crashes in the region that ended with multiple fatalities include a crash from 2009, when Diane Schuler, 36, of West Babylon, drove a minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway, killing eight people, including her three young nieces, her 2-year-old daughter and herself. Authorities said she had consumed 10 drinks and had smoked marijuana before the crash.
In 2005, 7-year-old Katie Flynn and limo driver Stanley Rabinowitz died on the Meadowbrook State Parkway after Martin Heidgen, later convicted of causing the wrong-way crash, downed more than a dozen drinks and slammed into their vehicle. Flynn was returning from a family wedding where she was a flower girl.
New York State Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said in a statement Thursday that “the wrong-way countermeasures on the Southern State Parkway meet or exceed national standards.”
Due to an ongoing police investigation, Canzoneri said the DOT was unable to provide further comment.
A 9-year-old boy was killed in a wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway on Thursday and his mother has been charged with driving while impaired by drugs, state police said.
Kerri A. Bedrick, 32, of Centerport, was driving west with her son Eli D. Henrys, 9, also of Centerport, on the eastbound Southern State early Thursday morning when she collided with a car going east, police said, which led to a four-vehicle crash.
Bedrick was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, driving while impaired by drugs, felony aggravated DWI with a child under 16, and endangering the welfare of a child. She also was charged with felony possession of a stimulant.
She sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was released from Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. She was taken to be booked by state police in Brentwood. She will be held overnight and is due to be arraigned Friday morning in First District Court in Central Islip.
WHAT TO KNOW
- A 9-year-old boy has been killed in a wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway with his mother at the wheel.
- The mother, of Centerport, has been charged with driving while impaired by drugs.
- The initial collision with a vehicle led to a four-vehicle crash on the parkway.
A deputy sheriff assigned to DWI enforcement spotted a 2022 Mitsubishi SUV driving west in the eastbound lanes of the parkway, near Carleton Avenue in Islip at Exit 43, at about 2:15 a.m., according to state police.
The deputy followed the SUV briefly with lights and sirens activated, but the car sped away, Suffolk County Deputy Undersheriff John Becker said. The deputy then entered the westbound lanes to attempt to follow the wrong-way driver in the parallel lanes.
About five miles down the parkway in North Bay Shore, the deputy came upon a four-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes, police said.
Bedrick was standing outside the Mitsubishi when state police and the sheriff deputies arrived. Police said they pulled Henrys, who was wearing a seat belt, from the backseat and performed CPR. He died at South Shore University Hospital.
The collision was so severe that it launched the Mitsubishi's engine into the woods along the parkway and caused extensive damage to the other vehicles, state police said. Two of the other drivers were treated with minor injuries; a third driver was uninjured, according to police.
In an interview, Bedrick’s mother, Diane Bedrick, said she last spoke to her daughter Wednesday, but didn’t know where she was driving from early Thursday morning before the crash.
She said she has not been able to speak to her daughter since the crash while she was hospitalized and in police custody.
“I just know I lost my grandson,” she said while her daughter was being processed by state police. “I’m just trying to get through the day. They both loved each other, and it’s going to be difficult in the future.”
Diane Bedrick, of Riverhead, said her daughter was being treated for medical issues and was on prescription medication, but she didn’t know what she was taking. She did not elaborate on her daughter’s condition.
She said her daughter was a hairdresser, but recently had been beset by her medical issues. Eli was to start fourth grade this year in Centerport.
“He was such a sweet boy and had a long life ahead of him,” Diane Bedrick said. “She adored him and he was everything to her.”
His grandmother described him as a typical little boy, who loved games and skateboarding. He also loved to be in the water and eat pancakes in the morning, she said.
“They’re both loved and we’re trying to get through this,” she said.
The 9-year-old is at least the third person to die in a wrong-way crash on Long Island this year, according to a Newsday analysis based on news releases from Long Island police agencies.
The analysis also shows that last year, there were at least five fatal wrong-way crashes on the Island.
They included a crash from May 2023 in which 14-year-old Roslyn High School tennis players Ethan Falkowitz and Drew Hassenbein died after authorities said motorist Amandeep Singh hit their car.
Singh, 35, was heading the wrong way on North Broadway in Jericho while allegedly drunk. He has pleaded not to guilty to charges including aggravated vehicular homicide and drunken driving.
Other wrong-way crashes in the region that ended with multiple fatalities include a crash from 2009, when Diane Schuler, 36, of West Babylon, drove a minivan the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway, killing eight people, including her three young nieces, her 2-year-old daughter and herself. Authorities said she had consumed 10 drinks and had smoked marijuana before the crash.
In 2005, 7-year-old Katie Flynn and limo driver Stanley Rabinowitz died on the Meadowbrook State Parkway after Martin Heidgen, later convicted of causing the wrong-way crash, downed more than a dozen drinks and slammed into their vehicle. Flynn was returning from a family wedding where she was a flower girl.
New York State Department of Transportation spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said in a statement Thursday that “the wrong-way countermeasures on the Southern State Parkway meet or exceed national standards.”
Due to an ongoing police investigation, Canzoneri said the DOT was unable to provide further comment.
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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.
