By Gabriel Rom
The mother of four children who were injured after her SUV collided with a garbage truck in Woodhaven early Thursday morning has been charged with drunk driving, according to police.
Authorities said Rishma Sookdial, 36, of East New York, Brooklyn, was behind the wheel of a 2005 Honda Pilot carrying four children when she rear-ended a garbage truck belonging to a private company.
Police said she was arrested after showing signs of intoxication such as slurred speech after the collision. The crash, which injured Sookdial and her four children, occurred at 12:30 a.m. at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and 76th Street, police said.
Officers from the 102nd Precinct and EMS units responded to the scene and firefighters worked for 10 minutes to free one of the mother’s children in the front passenger seat, police said.
Sookdial and her children were taken to Jamaica Hospital for treatment. None of the injuries were life threatening.
The Queens district attorney’s office said a Breathalyzer test later conducted on Sookdial revealed that she had a blood alcohol level of .253, far above the .08 legal limit.
Sookdial was charged with four counts each of DWI with a child passenger and child endangerment, the DA said. She faces up to four years behind bars if convicted, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
“My office has zero tolerance when it comes to individuals who get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol,” Brown said in a statement. “In this case. the defendant didn’t just risk her life while allegedly driving drunk, she also exposed her children to grave danger. Although her four youngsters were injured in the crash, it could have been much worse.”
Reach reporter Gabriel Rom by e-mail at grom@
