Apr 2, 2009 8:00 pm US/Eastern
Smithtown Mother Killed In Crash With Drunk Driver
SMITHTOWN, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Karen Negrin, 43, was killed after being struck by a drunk driver on her way to work on April 2, 2009.
CBS
A Long Island mother was killed after a drunk driver allegedly loaded up on vodka and xanax plowed into her car as she was on her way to work.
Karen Naclerio-Negrin's family and friends in Smithtown were overcome with anger and grief after learning of her tragic death.
"Of all the people on the block, she was the mother that everyone wanted to be," said Donna Paymer, Naclerio-Negrin's neighbor. "The only mom on the block who baked the cookies from scratch, sat with kids. They didn't watch TV, they played. She enjoyed everything about her kids and family, nd if you look up 'family' that was Karen."
The popular mother of two little girls, ages 5 and 8, Naclerio-Negrin, 43, was an American Airlines ticket agent at LaGuardia Airport for more than two decades. She was killed on her way to the airport by alleged drunk driver John Harnage, also 43, who lives less than a quarter of a mile from her home.
"The victim was going to work to help support her family. The perpetrator in this thing was coming home obviously in an intoxicated condition," said Suffolk Co. Police Det. Lt. Robert Edwards.
Harnage's neighbors tell CBS 2 that they'd never seen him drunk before.
"The whole family is beautiful. They're very nice. It's a tragedy on both ends, this whole thing," said Diana Misevich, the suspect's neighbor.
But Harnage, a mortgage banker, told police he'd been dealing with an anxiety disorder, apparently mixing xanax with four screwdriver drinks before getting behind the wheel.
Police say at approximately 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Naclerio-Negrin was driving her 1992 Volvo southbound on Route 25A in Smithtown when Harnage, traveling northbound, slammed head-on into her in his 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck near Summerset drive. Naclerio-Negrin was pronounced dead at the scene. Harnage was not injured.
Negrin's colleagues called her husband when she hadn't show up for work. He went out looking for her and discovered the horrible scene.
"We're all devastated. She was a devoted mother, wife and cousin and we all will miss her dearly," said Lisa Aronoff, Negrin's cousin.
Harnage was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and could face additional charges. He was arraigned Thursday at First District Court in Central Islip and apologized to the court.
He's being held on $150,000 bail.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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