Long Island mom allegedly ran over teens – twice – to avenge her bullied son

A Long Island mother allegedly hit a 15-year-old boy with her car – twice – to avenge her bullied son.

Jennifer Nelson, 35, of Shirley, Suffolk County, is now facing charges of attempted murder after allegedly driving her car into the teenager in the parking lot of a Manhattan bagel shop in October and then hitting him twice because she believed he used to bully him and rob her son.

Nelson then attempted to trade her leased 2020 Honda Passport for a different model to throw police off their trail, prosecutors say.

“This defendant — an adult — allegedly thought she could take the law into her own hands to kill a 15-year-old in the process,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement Monday, as Nelson of the crime was charged.

“The incredibly misguided attempt by these defendants to avenge the alleged victimization of their own child is no excuse,” he said. “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.”

Authorities said two teenagers were later arrested in the alleged robbery of Nelson’s son, but neither of them was the victim of the hit-and-run.

According to prosecutors, on Oct. 7, an enraged Nelson had pulled her car into the parking lot of a Dunkin’ Donut across from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach and confronted a group of teenagers while brandishing a knife and small bat.

The 15-year-old boy walked away and into the bagel shop parking lot — Nelson got behind the wheel again and followed the teenager, prosecutors said.

She crashed into him, throwing him to the ground, then “proceeded to run over the victim, onto a curb, reverse, ran over the victim again,” authorities said.

The boy suffered multiple fractures of the pelvis, six broken ribs, a punctured lung and “numerous bruises and abrasions,” the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.

In an email to The Post Monday, Nelson’s attorney Paul D’Emilia called the district attorney’s version of the incident “unfortunate and misleading” and said the prosecution’s account “attempted to present two separate events that day as one continuous event.” to summarize.

“MS. Nelson received a frantic call from her son, who was being bullied and physically assaulted again in the parking lot outside William Floyd High School,” D’Emilia said drove up minutes later.

“After fending off her son’s attackers, she drove to both junior high school and senior high school to report the incident and also to attempt to recover her son’s sneakers.”

D’Emilia said Nelson struck the teenager nearly two hours later as she was driving her son home.

“A group of men ran through the streets and one of the young men was injured after hitting Ms Nelson’s car,” he said. “MS. Nelson neither saw nor recognized the injured young man.”

He said his client was “completely surprised” and did not see the teenager run to her car – and said the victim “ran away after the incident”.

Despite this, Nelson was charged Monday with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and reckless first-degree endangerment and one charge of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily harm.

Suffolk County prosecutors requested that she be held on $250,000 bail or $1 million bail, but Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei released her without bail.

Nelson is scheduled to appear back in court on March 21.