Copiague Driver Gets 4-12 Years In Prison After Fatally Striking Man

COPIAGUE, NY — A Copiague woman was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison in court on Tuesday for striking a vehicle and killing a pedestrian while driving more than twice the legal blood alcohol concentration limit.

Annmarie Donadeo, 51, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to first-degree vehicular manslaughter and aggravated driving while intoxicated, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.

On Aug. 24, 2021, at about 9:10 p.m., Donadeo was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer on Hawkins Boulevard in Copiague after drinking for about 4 1/2 hours at a local bar, according to the investigation.

While she was driving, the pedestrian, Travis Kinard, was getting toys out of the rear of a parked minivan that was in front of his girlfriend’s house, prosecutors said.

Kinard was between the minivan and a parked Hyundai Elantra when Donadeo struck the Elantra,
causing him to become pinned between the two parked cars.

Donadeo’s vehicle continued a short distance before it became disabled. Kinard was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he died as a result of the injuries he sustained from the crash, prosecutors said.

While speaking with police, Donadeo exhibited signs of intoxication, made admissions to drinking alcohol, and subsequently performed poorly on field sobriety tests. A sample of Donadeo’s blood, which was taken more than two hours after the crash, was tested and revealed that her blood alcohol concentration was .21 percent, more than twice the legal limit, officials said.

“This defendant’s choices and actions resulted in an unspeakable tragedy for the family of Travis Kinard,” said Tierney. “The defendant chose to endanger Suffolk County residents through her selfish and senseless conduct and in the process, caused the death of an innocent individual who was simply retrieving items from a parked vehicle. This sentence cannot possibly begin to address the loss that has been suffered in this case, but unfortunately, it is the most that can be hoped for given the leniency of our vehicular manslaughter laws.”

On Oct. 18, Donadeo pleaded guilty to the charges. The judge also ordered her license revoked.

Vincent Grande, Donadeo's attorney, told Patch that he has no comment other than the case is a "tragedy for everyone involved."