A Queens, New York driver accused of DWI was charged after a chain-reaction sequence that left her friend in critical condition. Samantha Maloney, 22, declined to comment on the early-morning collision that sent her friend Victoria Garrett off the elevated Whitestone Expressway and onto the roadway below. A prosecutor said Garrett was not expected to survive.
Maloney admitted having at least one vodka tonic at a lounge in Astoria before getting behind the wheel around 3:30 a.m., authorities said. She initially refused a breath test and consented six hours later, when she still registered a .095 blood-alcohol level, above the .08 legal limit. The sequence began after her car had a flat tire, at which point she phoned Garrett for help. Garrett rushed to her aid, and an off-duty EMT also pulled over to help. An off-duty NYPD lieutenant then crashed into the EMT's car, sending Garrett flying. The lieutenant took a breath test at the scene and a hospital blood test, registered a .02, and was not charged.
Maloney was charged with misdemeanor DWI in Queens and could face upgraded charges, an assistant district attorney said, arguing that she set into motion a chain of events that led Garrett to the scene. Maloney's lawyer said the unidentified officer was to blame, asserting that he hit the car that hit her friend and should be the one charged.
What this Queens DWI case shows
This case is a study in two issues that decide real outcomes. The first is the delayed test: a reading taken six hours after the stop is not the reading at the time of driving, and the gap opens the door to a serious challenge over what the number actually proves. The second is causation. Prosecutors framed Maloney as having set a fatal chain of events in motion, while the defense pointed to the intervening crash caused by someone else. Where an intervening act breaks the chain is one of the hardest and most important fights in a vehicular case.
A misdemeanor DWI that prosecutors are threatening to upgrade is exactly the kind of case where early, experienced defense work matters most. A Queens DWI lawyer who has prosecuted these cases can press the timing of the test and the causation question before the charges harden. Learn more about the stop and the breath test.
This write-up is drawn from public news reports at the time and is preserved here for general information only. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt, and every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Nothing here predicts the outcome of any other case, and nothing here is legal advice.