What Happened
A Bethpage woman went on trial Monday in the fatal June 28, 2024 crash on Round Swamp Road in Bethpage. According to the Nassau County District Attorney, Cheryl Bergenstock was driving northbound when she collided head-on with a southbound vehicle. The District Attorney said Bergenstock was 64 when she was arraigned in October 2024. Newsday’s trial coverage gives her age as 66.
The District Attorney said an analysis of the event data recorder in Bergenstock’s vehicle indicated she was allegedly driving 78 mph in a 40 mph zone five seconds before she crossed a double yellow line. Prosecutors say she then struck the other driver’s vehicle in his own lane.
The other driver was an 82-year-old Old Bethpage man. He was flown by helicopter to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, the District Attorney said. “He suffered bilateral femur fractures, had a chest tube inserted, and underwent surgery for internal injuries. He succumbed to his injuries the following day on June 29, 2024.”
The District Attorney also said: “A search warrant for the defendant’s blood taken at the hospital revealed Bergenstock had a blood alcohol content of .20% approximately one hour after the crash.”
- It happened near Winding Road.
- Bergenstock was driving a 2023 Subaru Forester and struck a 2019 Toyota Corolla.
- The injured man was airlifted by the Nassau County Police Department’s Aviation Unit.
Charges
According to the District Attorney, Bergenstock was arraigned in October 2024 before Judge Helene Gugerty on several charges:
- Aggravated Vehicular Homicide (a B felony)
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree (a C felony)
- Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a D felony)
- Manslaughter in the Second Degree (a C felony)
- Assault in the Second Degree (a D felony)
- Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated
Patch reported that the charges also include two counts of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.
When she was first arrested, police charged her with a narrower set of offenses, News 12 reported. Those charges were driving while intoxicated, second-degree vehicular assault and second-degree assault.
Bergenstock has pleaded not guilty. The charges are allegations, not a conviction.
Opening Arguments
Newsday reported on Monday’s opening arguments at the Nassau County courthouse in Mineola.
A Nassau prosecutor told jurors the following, according to Newsday:
- Bergenstock began drinking around 5 p.m. at a friend’s home, after buying a 750 mL bottle of Malibu rum.
- “When she went to leave that night, that bottle was nearly empty,” the prosecutor said.
- Around 7:20 p.m., the friend tried to stop her from leaving. The friend offered to drive her home or to call her husband to pick her up. “The defendant had options,” the prosecutor said.
- On the drive home, Bergenstock swerved repeatedly and did not brake before the collision.
- At the scene, she repeatedly told first responders she was “really, really drunk.”
- The crash broke the victim’s back, pelvis and both femurs and lacerated his liver.
The defense attorney told jurors that prosecutors would not be able to prove their case, Newsday reported.
- Nassau County detectives did not perform a crash scene investigation.
- Prosecutors did not talk to several witnesses to the crash.
- “This was a complete and utter failure on the part of the government on nearly every level,” the defense attorney said.
The victim’s daughter was the first witness after opening statements, according to Newsday. She described her father as an active 82-year-old. She told jurors she signed a do-not-resuscitate form after doctors said he would never fully recover.
Local Crash Record
Federal FARS fatal-crash records show 18 fatal crashes within Bethpage’s 2020 Census boundaries from 2010 through 2024. Eighteen people died in those crashes. The 2024 figures are preliminary.
The counts come from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s records of crashes on public roads in which someone died within 30 days. Crashes are placed by their reported coordinates. The figures are not a rate and are not a statement about this crash’s cause.
What we don’t know yet: none of the published records identify who the second-degree assault charge relates to, or which judge is presiding over the trial. The Nassau County District Attorney has not published a press release on the trial’s opening.
Sources
- Newsday
- Nassau County District Attorney (official record)
- Patch
- Shore News Network
- Mid-Island Times
- News 12