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Amy Wesolowski at her arraignment in March. T.E. MCMORROW
Amy Wesolowski, the Flanders mom whose 4-year-old daughter, Gracelyn Perkowski, was killed when Wesolowski backed out of her driveway into oncoming traffic earlier this year, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, October 25, to two felony charges, including vehicular manslaughter. She will be sentenced December 14.
After entering her guilty plea, she admitted under oath that she was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.
She entered the plea after Justice Richard Ambro promised her a one-to-three-year sentence in state prison. District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office had asked for three to nine years.
The Flanders woman was so high on amphetamines late on morning of January 13 that she could not properly judge the speed of oncoming traffic on Flanders Road, where the accident occurred, prosecuting attorney James Curtin stated in court. Her Toyota SUV was struck broadside, leading to her daughter’s death.
Wesolowski’s attorney, Brian DeSesa, said after the court session on Tuesday that she was taking prescribed drugs. He also said that, since the accident, she has been in a drug treatment program.
The impact of the January 13 crash propelled her young daughter, seated in the back seat on the passenger side, into the SUV’s trunk, Curtin told the court during Wesolowski’s arraignment, which followed her indictment this past March. Southampton Town Police said at the time of the accident that the child, who died three days later, was not properly secured in her seat.
Besides manslaughter, Wesolowski, 35, also pleaded guilty to a Leandra’s Law crime, a felony charge of driving with ability impaired by drugs or alcohol with a child in the car. The law is named for Leandra Rosado, an 11-year-old girl who was killed in an accident involving a drunk driver in Manhattan in 2009. Wesolowski also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, endangering the welfare of a child and driving while high on drugs.
The one-to-three-year sentence is on the most serious charge, manslaughter. The other charges will incur lesser prison time, with all sentences to be served concurrently.
