Suffolk Woman Pleads Guilty In Hit-And-Run That Killed Mom Of 5

BRENTWOOD, NY — A Brentwood woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter this week after she ran over a Commack mother of five with her vehicle on a sidewalk, drove away and tried to hide evidence.

Madeline Henriquez, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene without reporting, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and misdemeanor reckless driving, prosecutors said Wednesday. She is expected to be sentenced to 3 1/2 to 10 1/2 years in prison when she's sentenced May 19.

“Cherokee Fletcher was a mother of five young children. She was standing at a light waiting to cross the street after getting cash for one of her kids to attend a field trip. As she stood feet from the home she shared with her children, this defendant drove up onto the sidewalk and crashed into her. Instead of stopping and getting help or rendering aid to Cherokee, this defendant drove away leaving her to die, and later attempted to conceal her cowardly crimes,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.

Tierney added there are "no penalties under the law that can make up for the fact that there are five children right now who are left without a mother because of this defendant’s recklessness."

Around 10 p.m. on May 23, Henriquez was speeding in a 2012 Hyundai Elantra on Motor Parkway when she swerved into the northbound lane of Wicks Road, struck a vehicle and subsequently ran over the 28-year-old Fletcher. The mother of five children — all between ages 1 to 7 — died of her injuries.

Henriquez later tried to conceal the crime by having a tow truck pick up her damaged vehicle and bring it to another home in Brentwood for repairs. The windshield and passenger side of her vehicle sustained extensive damage consistent with a crash with both a vehicle and pedestrian.

She was arrested June 2. A search was granted for Henriquez’s cell phone, which she agreed to provide to police during her surrender. However, Henriquez instead gave investigators a phone that was not in use at the time of the crash in an effort to conceal evidence, prosecutors said.

Attorney Robert P. Kelly, who represented Henriquez, previously told Patch that "our position is that this is a tragic accident"; she was not intoxicated at the time, he said.

Instead, Henriquez was physically exhausted from working all weekend at a country club, and fell asleep at the wheel, Kelly said in July.

Henriquez hit another car and left the scene, Kelly said, but did not know a person had been struck, he maintained. She learned about Fletcher's death while watching the news, he said.

"She's heartbroken for Ms. Fletcher's fiancé, their children, her mom, and their entire family," said Kelly. "Our prayers go out to them."

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