L.I. woman pleads guilty to running over woman in dispute over daughter’s memorial
A 63-year-old Long Island woman pleaded guilty to killing a 50-year-old mom in a dispute involving a memorial honoring the victim’s murdered 16-year-old daughter.
Annmarie Drago of Patchogue hit Evelyn Rodriguez with her car, then proceeded to drive over the grieving mom on the afternoon of Sept. 14, 2018.
The pair were arguing over a memorial honoring Kayla Cuevas, who was killed by gang violence a couple years earlier, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. The shrine was constructed on a sidewalk outside Drago’s Brentwood home where the girl was killed.
Rodriguez’s confrontation with Drago began after the defendant dismantled that memorial, which included a large floral wreath she placed in the back of her vehicle, the DA’s office contended.
“At approximately 4:15 p.m., while Rodriguez was standing near the front driver’s side tire of Drago’s vehicle, Drago attempted to leave the scene,” prosecutors said. “Drago accelerated her vehicle, knocking Rodriguez down, and then continued to drive over her.”
Rodriguez was taken to Southside Hospital with a fractured skull and pronounced dead.
Following a 2023 mistrial on a criminally negligent homicide charge, prosecutors said they’d try Drago again. After pleading guilty, she’s expected to get five years probation when she’s sentenced on Aug. 1, prosecutors said Friday. The district attorney is hoping for a prison term of between one and three years.
