An Oceanside woman is facing serious felony charges after prosecutors say she barreled the wrong way down the Southern State Parkway on Sunday night, triggering a six-car pileup near Exit 17S in Malverne that killed an elderly Far Rockaway couple and sent at least 10 people to local hospitals. Bishop Donald Maxwell, 82, and his wife, Liscent Barbara Maxwell, 88, were pronounced dead after a head-on collision that investigators say began with a wrong-way Cadillac Escalade.
Prosecutors identify the driver as Diana Kutateladze, who was behind the wheel of a 2020 Cadillac Escalade when she allegedly sideswiped a gray BMW and then crossed the median into oncoming traffic. She admitted to drinking whiskey and Cokes before driving and blew a 0.10 on a preliminary breath test, according to prosecutors, who also say the Escalade hit roughly 70 mph before impact, as reported by the New York Post. The Escalade then slammed into a 2016 Toyota Highlander carrying the Maxwells, prosecutors allege.
Kutateladze pleaded not guilty to 10 counts in a Hempstead courtroom and was ordered held without bail, according to court records. She is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and related offenses, and a legal aid attorney told the court that a conviction could bring a sentence ranging from eight to 25 years in prison. The case is being prosecuted by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office (Nassau County DA).
How Prosecutors Say The Crash Unfolded
Investigators say the chain of events started when Kutateladze’s Escalade sideswiped the BMW near Exit 17S, then jumped the median and smashed head-on into the Highlander, touching off a multi-vehicle wreck that ultimately involved four additional cars. According to prosecutors, Kutateladze’s front-seat passenger, identified as her husband, was left in critical condition with a brain bleed and two fractured femurs, while another unidentified person suffered a broken arm and pelvis. At least 10 people were transported to nearby hospitals, prosecutors told the New York Post.
Community Remembers The Maxwells
Bishop Donald Maxwell was a longtime leader at Pentecostal City Mission Church in Far Rockaway, and his wife, Liscent, served alongside him as a reverend, according to local accounts. Congregants say the pair were near-constant presences at services and community events, a couple who rarely missed a Sunday. Neighbors and church members described their deaths as a heartbreaking blow to a congregation that had come to rely on the Maxwells for both spiritual guidance and everyday support.
Prosecution And Precedent
Nassau prosecutors in recent years have taken a hard line on high-speed and wrong-way crashes on the Southern State Parkway, winning multi-year prison terms in several cases and repeatedly pointing to impaired driving as an ongoing threat on Long Island roads. In this case, they say the investigation will lean on witness interviews, vehicle data and toxicology results to map out exactly what happened and to shape their criminal case.
Kutateladze remains held without bail as the matter is scheduled to return to court for pretrial proceedings. Prosecutors say witness statements and forensic testing will continue to fill in the picture of Sunday night’s wreck. While that plays out in the legal system, investigators and church members are left to mourn two community pillars lost in a single, headline-grabbing crash.
