Skid marks could still be seen on the lawns of 42 and 40 Blue Jay Drive in Brentwood Tuesday morning, after a Bay Shore woman drove a vehicle with her three children into the side of a home Oct. 4.
Ashley Thomas-Smith, 34, was driv- ing a 2004 Lincoln Navigator westbound with her daughters – ages 4, 5 and 8 – when she lost control of the car at 6:40 p.m., police reports said. The vehicle crashed through a house on Blue Jay Drive before coming to a stop on the lawn of a neighboring house.
When Suffolk County police arrived at the scene Sunday right, they deter- mined Thomas-Smith was intoxicat- ed. Her blood alcohol content was not immediately available.
The driver and her daughters were
transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where Thomas-Smith was treated for non-life-threatening inju- ries. The children were not injured and were released to the custody of their father at the hospital, reports said.
Thomas-Smith was arrested for driv- ing while intoxicated under Leandra’s
Law and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Under Leandra’s Law, DWI charges are upgraded to a felony, even on the first offense, if the vehicle was carrying any passengers under the age of 16.
She was arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip Monday, where she pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to court records, and was later issued a temporary order of pro- tection. She is due back in court later this week.
