Jennifer Nelson: Long Island mom allegedly runs over 15-yr-old boy twice to exact revenge for bullied son
LOND ISLAND, NEW YORK: A Long Island mother has been charged with hitting a 15-year-old boy with her SUV, running him over twice and then fleeing the scene after her son was bullied, authorities said Monday, February 6. After allegedly running over the teen twice in the parking lot of a Manhattan bagel store in October, Jennifer Nelson, 35, of Shirley in Suffolk County is now charged with attempted murder. She apparently did so because the victim had previously bullied and robbed her son.
Then, prosecutors said, Nelson tried to trade in her leased 2020 Honda Passport to throw police off her trail. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said the 15-year-old child was injured on October 7, 2022, and suffered multiple bruises and abrasions in addition to six broken ribs, a punctured lung and multiple pelvic fractures, Pixi 11 reported.
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What really happened?
Prosecutors allege that an angry Nelson drove her car into the parking lot of a Dunkin' Donuts across from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach on October 7 and confronted a group of students while brandishing a knife and small bat. The 15-year-old boy turned around and walked into the bagel store parking lot, and Nelson got back into the driver's seat and followed, prosecutors said.
Authorities alleged that after hitting him and knocking him to the ground, she "proceeded to drive over the victim, up onto a curb, reversed, drove over him again" The boy suffered multiple pelvic fractures, six broken ribs, a punctured lung and "numerous bruises and abrasions," a statement from prosecutors said.
Why did Jennifer Nelson run over 15-yr-old boy?
Nelson's attorney, Paul D'Emilia, wrote in an email to the New York Post on Monday, February 6, that the prosecutor's account of the incident was "unfortunate and misleading" and that it attempted to conflate two separate events that day into a single related incident. "Ms. Nelson received a frantic telephone call from her son, who was once again being bullied and physically assaulted in the parking lot outside William Floyd High School," D'Emilia said. "She found him shoeless and surrounded by tormentors when she drove up a few minutes later. D'Emilia continued, "After fending off her son's attackers, she drove to both the junior high school as well as the senior high school to report the incident and also to try to retrieve her son's sneakers."
Nearly two hours later, while D'Emilia was driving her son home, Nelson allegedly hit the teenager. “A group of males were running through the streets, and one of the young men received injuries after striking Ms Nelson’s car,” he said. “Ms. Nelson did not see nor recognize the young man who was injured.” He stated that his client was "completely taken by surprise" and did not notice the teen running toward her car — and that the victim "ran off after the incident."
What did Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney say?
“This defendant – an adult – allegedly thought she could take the law into her own hands and tried to kill a 15-year-old in the process,” Tierney said. “This defendant’s incredibly misguided attempt to avenge the alleged victimization of her own child is no excuse. Citizens cannot take the law into their own hands, and should instead work with law enforcement and my office to seek justice in every case.”
In addition, the hit-and-run victim was not one of the two teens later arrested in connection with the alleged robbery of Nelson's son, according to authorities. Nevertheless, Nelson was charged Monday, February 6, with attempted second-degree murder, assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident with substantial bodily injury. Superior Court Judge Timothy Mazzei denied the Suffolk County prosecutor's request to hold her on $250,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. Instead, he ordered her released without posting bail. Nelson is due in court on March 21.