Driver in wrong-way crash that killed pregnant woman charged in her death

NORTH HILLS, N.Y. -- (WPIX) -- The driver in a wrong-way crash that killed his 6-month pregnant passenger and injured two other people on Long Island Sunday is being charged in her death, police said Monday.

Courtney W. Corbett, 28, of Brooklyn, was charged with manslaughter Monday in First District Court after fleeing away from police and crashing into another vehicle in North Hills, killing one of his passengers. He also faces two counts of assault and reckless driving, police said.

Nassau County police says an officer after hearing a broadcast of three individuals fleeing the scene of a larceny at a Sephora cosmetic store on Northern Blvd. in Manhasset saw them making a left turn to Shelter Rock Road in a 2013 Hyundai Sonata just before 4 p.m. The cop activated his lights and ordered them to stop but they refused, driving recklessly heading south on Shelter Rock Road. The trio then made a right turn traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of traffic on the Long Island Expressway Service Road, where the trailing police car stopped and loss sight of the vehicle.

Corbett, who was driving the Hyundai Sonata, was with a 27-year-old pregnant woman and a 23-year-old woman in the car. His vehicle then struck a 2007 Audi with a 44-year-old man and two teenagers inside head-on, police said.

Corbett was taken into police custody and taken to a hospital where he was treated for multiple cuts and contusions. His 27-year-old female passenger, who was 6 months pregnant, was found not breathing and unresponsive. She was rushed to a hospital where she and the unborn child were pronounced dead by a hospital physican. The other female passenger was treated for a head injury.