Glen Cove woman indicted in fatal drugged driving motorcycle crash
According to the DA, Varrino worked the night prior as an Uber driver, and spent the rest of the night partying with drugs and alcohol and had active levels of cocaine and Xanax in her blood hours after the incident.
Top Stories
A Glen Cove Uber driver was indicted in a fatal drugged driving crash that killed a 58-year-old woman in July 2025, according to the Nassau County district attorney.
Nina Varrino, who asked the court during her arraignment Wednesday to be identified as a female, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The lethal and fiery crash happened on the South Service Road of the Long Island Expressway in North Hills.
A 64-year-old man and his wife, Lisa Pelaez, were driving on a motorcycle in Oyster Bay when Varrino, in a Kia, allegedly fell asleep at the wheel and hit the motorcycle, ejecting both onboard and causing the bike to go up in flames, said the DA.
Pelaez, 58, was taken to North Shore University Hospital with blunt force trauma injuries and succumbed to her injuries two hours after the incident. Her husband had broken ribs, a fractured spine and shoulders and a collapsed lung.
According to the DA, Varrino worked the night prior as an Uber driver, and spent the rest of the night partying with drugs and alcohol and had active levels of cocaine and Xanax in her blood hours after the incident.
Over an hour before the collision, she pulled over to the shoulder of the Cross Island Parkway. Bystanders who saw her driving haphazardly told her she should stop driving.
After the crash, Varrino kept driving and was arrested by Nassau County detectives Wednesday. She is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter and a slew of other charges, according to police. Her next court date is March 20.
