Lynbrook Woman Sentenced in DWI Death

A Lynbrook woman was sentenced to two to six years in prison on Wednesday for the death of a 35-year-old East Rockaway resident on March 27, 2009. The decision was handed down by Nassau County Judge Alan Honorof.
   
Patricia Bregel, 35, of Lynbrook, plead guilty in March 2009 to Manslaughter in the second degree, Vehicular Manslaughter in the second degree, and Driving While Intoxicated after she hit 35-year-old Timothy Motherway's 2000 Chevrolet Malibu as he was pulling into his driveway at about 12:45 a.m. on March 27, 2009. Nassau police reported Bregel's blood-alcohol content at .08 percent, and that she was driving at least 50 mph in a 30-mph zone.
   
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that "people who get behind the wheel of a car after drinking are gambling with the lives of the innocent people in their path. Long after this defendant's time is served, there will still remain a gaping hole in the lives of Timothy Motherway's family."
   
Bregel's attorney, Salvatore Marinello of Mineola, said he plans to file an appeal, as he was made to understand that his client would only serve one and a third years to four years. He said he hopes to have the sentence reduced.
   
"When it came to sentencing, [the judge] said he was uncomfortable … he took it back and said he was going to sentence her to two to six years," Marinello said, adding, "It's an unusual situation."