Harrison Police: Mother Was Drunk with Child in Car Before Head-On Crash

A 40-year-old woman had her 4-year-old son in the car and was driving drunk with open alcohol containers in her vehicle when she smashed into another vehicle head-on Sunday night, causing serious injuries to herself and child, Harrison police said.

Both the mother and son were hospitalized with serious injuries.

The driver, Leticia Chavez of Port Chester, was driving her blue Ford Windstar east in the westbound lane of Westchester Avenue when the collision took place near Kenilworth Road at about 7:34 p.m. She suffered a broken back, leg and neck and is being held at Westchester Medical Center. Her son suffered a broken leg and was treated at the same hospital but may have been released by Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

"It is my understanding that her condition is fairly serious," said Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini, who added that police were not able to interview her following the accident because of the extent of her injuries.

There were three people in the black Dodge Grand Caravan also involved in the crash, all of whom suffered minor injuries and have already been released from the hospital. The driver of the vehicle was able to swerve away from direct contact seconds before impact, but was unable to avoid a head-on collision.

"The driver of the other vehicle tried to swerve and avoid the accident," said Marraccini, "which probably took some force away from the impact."

Police are still investigating how fast each vehicle was moving at the time of the accident.

Chavez is facing four felony counts including reckless endangerment, aggravated driving while intoxicated with a child and three counts of vehicular assault. She was also cited for unlicensed operation and having an open container in the vehicle, according to Harrison Police. 

Police also said the I.C.E. has filed a detainer on Chavez, a Mexican citizen, to investigate the status of her citizenship. She did not have a valid driver's license on her at the time of the accident, according to police.

Chavez was arraigned in a hospital bed on Tuesday. She is currently in the custody of Westchester County Corrections at the hospital. Marraccini said at this point he has "no idea" what her timeline for recovery could be.