BY M. JUNAID ALAM
Danielle Baymack, 22, of the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, was driving while intoxicated on Sept. 22, 2006 with a fellow officer from the same precinct, 24-year-old Marlene Rivera, when her car slammed into a signpost near the Wantagh State Parkway, according to the Nassau DA.Rivera was pronounced dead at 5 a.m. shortly after the accident at Nassau University Medical Center and Baymack was arrested on the charge of driving while intoxicated. A blood sample from Baymack indicated her blood-alcohol concentration was .11 – above the legal limit of .08 – the DA said.Following Baymack's guilty pleas to felony charges of second-degree manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter, and a misdemeanor charge of driving while intoxicated, presiding Judge Meryl Berkowitz of Kimball County Court agreed to sentence her to six months' jail time and five years probation. The judge said she arrived at lenient sentence because “the victim's mother and father said that they … forgave the defendant for her actions,” according to the DA. Baymack had initially faced seven years of prison time, but charges against her were upgraded in late January 2007 to include manslaughter. She then faced a maximum of 15 years of possible prison time.The DA's office opposed the sentencing agreement.”While I proudly stand alongside and advocate for every victim that walks through this door, I have an additional responsibility to the community as a whole, ” Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice said in a statement released by her office.”I will continue to stand alongside this family, and I will respect their decision, but I will also continue the fight to hold drunk drivers who kill accountable for their actions.”Remanded to the Nassau County Jail, Baymack will be formally sentenced on March 7.Reach reporter M. Junaid Alam by e-mail at malam@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext 174.
