A Valley Stream woman was sentenced to 2 to 6 years in prison for driving drunk and under the influence of drugs when she went the wrong way on Hempstead Avenue and crashed head-on into a vehicle carrying two teenagers, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Kelyse Land, 26, was sentenced Sept. 29 after pleading guilty in July to aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault, third-degree assault and driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs.
The Nassau County District Attorney’s Office had recommended a sentence of 4 to 9 years in prison.
Read our previous coverage of Kelyse Land’s guilty plea in the wrong-way Hempstead crash.
Prosecutors said Land was driving a 2003 Nissan on Hempstead Avenue at about 11:45 p.m. on July 25, 2025, when she crossed the double yellow lines and entered oncoming traffic.
She crashed into the front of a 2022 BMW that was stopped at a red light, causing the BMW to strike another vehicle, according to prosecutors.
The teenage driver of the BMW suffered multiple hand and wrist fractures and lacerations requiring more than three dozen stitches. Prosecutors said the driver was left with permanently limited mobility in the wrist.
The teenage passenger suffered a concussion and sprained ankle.
Blood drawn from Land about three hours after the crash showed a blood alcohol content of .17%, more than twice the legal limit, prosecutors said. A reverse extrapolation analysis determined her BAC was between .185% and .26% at the time of the crash.
Investigators also recovered an empty 50-milliliter bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label from Land’s pocket, according to the district attorney’s office.
Land was arrested by Nassau County police at the scene.
“Kelyse Land had no regard for the safety of others when she got behind the wheel last July while drunk and high, and her actions caused a head-on crash that seriously injured a pair of teenagers,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.
Land pleaded guilty July 20 before Judge Helene Gugerty.
