DUI Woman gets jail time

Denise Messner, 28, of 148-17 Booth Memorial Avenue, has been sentenced to four years in jail after failing to complete an in-house residential substance abuse program as ordered by the courts following her guilty plea to a driving under the influence (DUI) incident.
Messner's DUI plea involved an accident in the early hours of New Year's Day when she first hit a police vehicle and then knocked down Police Officer John Walsh of the New York Police Department's Highway Unit Three at a sobriety checkpoint on the Long Island Expressway in Flushing.
Messner pled guilty on April 10 to Assault in the Second Degree, Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs.
The original incident occurred on the Long Island Expressway near the entrance to the Grand Central Parkway. At the time, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said, &#8220The defendant's decision to get behind the wheel when intoxicated resulted in serious injury to a police officer who, ironically, was attempting to protect the public from other drunk drivers. In admitting her guilt, the defendant will finally get the help that she needs and the public will be protected from the terrible consequences that can result from mixing alcohol and operating a motor vehicle.”
Meris Campbell of the Queens District Attorney's office was unable to confirm if Messner was the mother of a toddler as was widely reported at the time of the incident. She confirmed that Messner had, &#8220separated from the institution against clinical advice.”
Messner's attorney Paul Montgomery did not return The Queens Courier's phone calls.
Officer Walsh sustained lacerations and abrasions to the body and head and a broken leg requiring orthopedic surgery. After Walsh was struck, the defendant's vehicle struck the other motorist's vehicle - a 1987 Thunderbird.