By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Bronx mother whose deadly drunk-driving crash inspired stricter laws in New York won't get the maximum manslaughter sentence if she pleads guilty, a Manhattan judge said Tuesday.
Carmen Huertas, 32, would face a prison sentence longer than the minimum — one to three years — but shorter than the maximum of five to 15 years for the manslaughter death of Leandra Rosario, said Judge Charles Solomon as Huertas wept in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday.
"It'd be within that range," the judge said, without elaborating.
Huertas, 32, is accused of driving drunk and speeding with a car full of children attending an overnight birthday party on Oct. 10, 2009.
Rosado was killed and other children were seriously injured as the Bronx-bound Mercury Sable veered off the West Side Highway.
Huertas' attorney, Steven Adam Rubin, requested an adjournment so his client could consider whether to take a plea or fight the charges at trial.
She is scheduled to reappear in court on Aug. 10, five days before all of the provisions of Leandra's Law will be fully in effect.
Leandra's Law makes it an automatic felony to drive drunk with young passengers.
On Aug. 15, all driving while intoxicated offenders will be required to install an interlock device on their vehicles to stop the cars from starting if the driver is drinking.
Lenny Rosado, Leandra's father, campaigned for the law in Albany, which was signed about six weeks after the girl's death.
Her father, who was in court on Tuesday, said he believed Huertas was apprehensive about pleading guilty because she feared the time behind bars.
But her "selfish, careless" behavior should put her behind bars for at least ten years, the grieving Rosado said.
"She's going to have to learn to deal with it the way I learned to deal with the loss of my daughter," he added.
