A drunken Long Island driver who was swilling booze and gabbing on her cellphone before she crashed into a teen bicyclist, killing him, will get a measly six months in jail under a controversial plea deal.
Sloshed mom Caroline Goss, 34, of Mattituck had her 6-year-old son in the front passenger seat of her 2001 Jeep Cherokee, a glass of vodka next to her and a half-consumed bottle of vanilla vodka in the back seat when she hit Joseph Marino, 15, as he rode his bike in Hampton Bays last Aug. 13.
Goss — a nurse with a previous 2003 DWI rap and 1997 cocaine-possession bust — had a blood-alcohol level of 0.13 percent, more than 1½ times the legal limit, at the time.
She was charged with vehicular manslaughter, and could have faced two to seven years behind bars if convicted at trial.
But prosecutors said there was no evidence she was speeding or driving recklessly when the crash occurred, and witnesses had told them Marino actually swerved into the roadway before impact.
“Given witness statements and the accident reconstruction in this case, a conviction after a trial would have been problematic,” Suffolk DA spokesman Robert Clifford said.
So Goss was allowed to plead guilty to the rap in exchange for the six-month jail term. The felony conviction also carries five years’ probation.
She will be formally sentenced Thursday, but was allowed to already begin serving her sentence three weeks ago.
The plea deal infuriated Marino’s shattered mom.
Dorothy Marino, 50, yesterday started a vigil outside Riverhead Criminal Court, where she said she plans to protest until Thursday’s hearing.
“Until someone agrees to look at this case again, we’ll be here,” she said, joined by 10 supporters who chanted, “Justice for Joe!” and, “What’s happening is not right.”
The mom said she doesn’t completely accept the version of the crash that has been offered by prosecutors.
“[Goss] was drunk,” she said. “Who knows if [Joe] actually swerved into the road? I’m just not sure about that.”
She added, “This woman made the decision to drink and drive. I don’t care what anyone says — Joe’s life is worth more than six months. That’s a joke.
“I remember seeing [Goss] crying in court. I just wanted to tell her to shut up,” said the mom, who had driven around looking for her son that night and came upon the crash site.
“She’s not going to see her kids for six months. I’m never seeing Joey again.”