Oceanside driver drank whiskey before fatal parkway crash, records show

Diana Kutateladze, 37, has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail in the crash that killed a church pastor and his wife

The Oceanside woman accused of killing two people in a wrong-way crash on the Southern State Parkway has pleaded not guilty to a slate of felony charges, as newly filed charging documents allege she admitted to drinking whiskey before the crash and registered a blood alcohol content of .10 percent.

Diana Kutateladze, 36, was arraigned in Nassau County District Court and on charges that include aggravated vehicular homicide, first- and second-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree assault, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

Kutateladze’s husband Teimurazi — known as Temo — was a passenger in their 2020 Cadillac Escalade. He remains in critical condition following the crash.

The couple has three young children: twin boys, age 6, and a 4-year-old girl.

According to the felony complaints, Kutateladze was traveling at 70 mph on the westbound side of the parkway in Malverne on Sunday about 10:13 p.m. when she struck another car, causing her to lose control of the Escalade and jump the median guardrail into oncoming traffic.

Kutateladze’s Escalade then hit several eastbound vehicles before ultimately slamming head-on into a 2016 Toyota Highlander near Exit 17S. That collision killed the Toyota’s two passengers — 82-year-old local church pastor Donald Maxwell and his wife, Liscent Maxwell, 88, of Westbury, authorities said.

Breathylizer test administered at hospital

Troopers at the scene noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from inside Kutateladze’s vehicle and from her breath, according to the criminal complaint filed by state police investigator Jeffrey Shillingford.

Kutateladze, who suffered facial trauma and appeared in court Tuesday in a wheelchair, was taken to Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, where she allegedly told authorities that she “consumed alcohol in the form of a mixed beverage, whiskey and coke” before getting behind the wheel.

A preliminary breath test administered on Kutateladze at the hospital about 11:34 p.m. yielded a .10 percent blood alcohol content — above the legal limit of .08 percent, Shillingford attests in the court documents. She later allegedly consented to a blood draw.

The documents also identify two other people seriously injured in the collision. Victor Wilson, the driver of the Highlander, suffered a broken left arm and wrist and a broken right pelvis, both requiring surgery.

Teimurazi Kutateladze’s injuries were extensive: a C1 cervical spine fracture, an internal brain bleed, femur fractures in both legs, broken ribs and lacerations — all requiring surgery, the criminal complaint says.

In all, six vehicles and 10 people were involved in the crash.

Diana Kutateladze identified herself on social media as a DOJ-accredited immigration attorney representing a firm called Kutateli Legal Aid Group.

In a 2023 Facebook post, she described herself as having a decade of experience in immigration law.

The Maxwells were longtime leaders of the Pentecostal City Mission Church in Far Rockaway. Friends and parishioners said on social media the couple had been returning home from a church event at the time of the crash.

_{Top: Diana Kutateladze is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and DWI — among other charges — in the fatal Southern State Parkway crash on Sunday. Her husband Temo was a passenger in her SUV and is in critical condition (Facebook).}

Prior coverage

Community mourns bishop, wife killed in DWI crash on Southern State Pkwy.