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NY police: Teen driver on drugs runs down joggers

Date: 11/7/2008

By FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) _ A teenager on drugs and driving a sport utility vehicle slammed into two runners out for an evening jog, killing one of them — a beloved schoolteacher — and seriously injuring her friend, police said Friday.

Shea Rosen, a 19-year-old from the exclusive village of Brookville on Long Island, was being held in lieu of $1 million bond after pleading not guilty to driving under the influence.

Rosen’s attorney, former federal prosecutor Joseph Conway, declined to comment on the high bond amount but said his client’s family was unlikely to post it Friday.

Rosen, who works as a busboy and waiter at a Huntington restaurant, had no prior criminal record, his lawyer and police said.

Amanda Malloy, a 29-year-old who competed in triathlons and taught fourth grade at John F. Kennedy Intermediate School in Deer Park, was pronounced dead at a hospital after being run down about 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Her running companion, Vincent Saunders, 32, of Huntington, was hospitalized and not expected to survive, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Avemaria Thompson said at Rosen’s arraignment.

The prosecutor said police smelled marijuana on Rosen’s breath after the accident on a busy stretch of a Huntington highway.

More than 12 hours after the accident, Rosen’s 2000 Dodge Durango remained at the accident scene, and a lone woman’s jogging sneaker lay on the pavement nearby.

Three unidentified pills were found in Rosen’s sock, Thompson said. She said Rosen told police he didn’t see the joggers in the road.

Rosen, whose Facebook page features a photo of him flipping his middle finger to the camera, was initially charged with driving under the influence of drugs, but the prosecutor said upgraded charges were likely.

Conway said his office was still trying to ascertain what happened. “Our hearts, of course, go out to the victims’ families,” he said.

Malloy’s sister-in-law described her as a physical fitness enthusiast who often competed in triathlons and was an expert in the martial arts.

“Her life was exercising,” said Christine MacQuarrie, who also taught at Kennedy. “It is ironic that she died doing what she loved.”

Saunders and Malloy were friends who attended the same karate school and shared the same interests in exercise, MacQuarrie said.

Deer Park School Superintendent Elizabeth Marino said in a statement that grief counselors were at the school for staff and students.

“As an expert in the martial arts, she took pride in sharing her knowledge with students through well-received assemblies,” Marino said. “Amanda was loved and admired by her colleagues and students alike and highly respected by administration.”

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

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