A Georgia woman has been sentenced to 3 1/3 to 10 years in prison for driving while high on marijuana and crashing into another vehicle in Massapequa in April 2024, killing the driver of the vehicle, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Rachel Lodice, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, assault, vehicular manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatality without reporting it, grand larceny and driving while ability impaired by drugs.
Donnelly said she had recommended a sentence of seven to 15 years in prison.
Donnelly said according to the charges, on April 23, 2024, Lodice got into her 2023 Kia Rio at a Target store in Hicksville and began driving south on Newbridge Road.
She then made a stop at a Walgreens before pulling onto Hicksville Road and driving erratically at a high rate of speed, according to the DA. Lodice drove more than six miles southbound on Hicksville Road and at time did so on the wrong side of the double yellow line, over raised medians, and through several red traffic lights, Donnelly said.
At about 6:45 p.m., Lodice ran a red light at the intersection of Hicksville Road and Sunrise Highway in Massapequa while impaired by marijuana and T-boned a 2022 Nissan Altima driven by 64-year-old Cynthia Mitchell, who was carrying a passenger, the DA said.
Donnelly said Mitchell suffered extensive injuries and was transported to Nassau University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. The passenger suffered several broken ribs and a lacerated spleen and was also taken to NUMC, where she was treated and released, Donnelly said.
According to the event data recorder from Lodice’s vehicle, Lodice was driving approximately 76 miles per hour five seconds before the crash. The speed limit at that section of roadway is 35 miles per hour.
A Town of Oyster Bay Public Safety officer traveling eastbound on Sunrise Highway saw the collision and stopped to assist and block off traffic, according to the DA.
Donnelly said the officer assisted Lodice, asked her to stay in the area, and when they proceeded to Mitchell’s car, Lodice entered the driver’s side of the public safety officer’s car and drove the car eastbound on Sunrise Highway, away from the crash site.
Lodice fled and drove off to Neptune Avenue, a dead-end road in Seaford, according to the DA. The Town of Oyster Bay’s public safety vehicle was equipped with GPS tracking technology and a remote “kill” switch to disengage the engine when the vehicle is stationery, Donnelly said.
The vehicle was disabled, and Lodice was taken into custody by officers of the Nassau County Police Department’s Bureau of Special Operations.
