Diana Kutateladze, of Oceanside, charged in crash that killed 2 Pentecostal church leaders on Southern State Parkway

Two people were killed and several others injured in a six-vehicle crash on the Southern State Parkway near Malverne late Sunday when a woman later charged with driving while intoxicated lost control and crossed into oncoming lanes, authorities said. 

New York State Police said Diana Kutateladze, 36, of Oceanside, was driving a 2020 Cadillac Escalade west on the parkway at about 10:15 p.m. when she sideswiped a BMW driving in the left lane near Exit 17, according to a police news release. Kutateladze lost control and drifted over the center median, where her car hit multiple vehicles and crashed head-on with a 2016 Toyota Highlander, police said. 

Two passengers in the Highlander, Donald Maxwell, 82, and Liscent Barbara Maxwell, 88, were declared dead at the scene. 

The Maxwells were church leaders within the Pentecostal City Mission Church, an international organization with branches in the United States, Jamaica and several other countries, according to its website and members. Donald Maxwell is listed as a bishop and his wife is listed as a reverend.

The crash involved 10 drivers and passengers, police said. Multiple people were taken to hospitals, including one person who was critically injured but expected to survive, police said.

Investigators believe Kutateladze was speeding and impaired, police said. She was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular manslaughter, felony assault and drunken driving.

A hospital arraignment for Kutateladze at Mount Sinai South Nassau, where she remained Monday, was postponed, prosecutors said and a criminal complaint was not available. A defense attorney for her was not listed in online court records.

The Maxwells were church leaders who preached at services, according to the church's website. An April 29, 2020, post says, "Happiest of birthdays to our beloved Rev. B. Maxwell!!! We love you, we appreciate you, we thank God for you!"

At the International Pentecostal City Mission in Far Rockway, Donald Maxwell is listed on the marquee as a "pastor and overseer" and the "Rev. B. Maxwell" is listed as "assistant pastor." The church was locked and no one was available to comment Monday.

Bronx resident Althea Reid, who is the choir director in a Brooklyn branch of the Pentecostal City Mission church, said she had been worshipping with the couple before the crash that took their lives.

“It’s a blow to the church,” she said of the couple’s deaths. “It’s a hard blow.”

The pair, who were often affectionately referred to as mom and dad, were well-loved, caring people, Reid said in a phone interview.

They were “very dedicated, hard-working, people who cared, people who love the brethren,” she said.

A woman outside the couple's home Monday afternoon who identified herself as related to the couple declined to speak with Newsday. 

In 2024, Long Island had 28 deadly substance-related crashes that were reported by police, marking the lowest number seen since 2015, when the figure stood at 143, according to the Albany-based Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research.

The institute said it uses several factors to define a substance-related crash, including whether police reported that the incident involved alcohol, prescription medication or illicit drugs.

Police are asking anyone with information or video of the crash to call state police investigator Jeffrey Shillingford at 212-814-9597.

Newsday's Peter Gill contributed to this story.