Ran Over 63-Year-Old Victim with Her Vehicle After an Argument
A Coram woman was sentenced to seven years in prison for intentionally striking a 63-year-old woman with a minivan, following a verbal and physical altercation with the victim at a public parking lot in Bellport.
On October 26, 2024, shortly after 3:30 a.m., Philomena Mistretta was sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2004 white Toyota Sienna when she was involved in a verbal dispute with the victim who was standing next to the passenger side of the vehicle.
The argument, at the parking lot of Miracle Plaza off Montauk Highway in Bellport, escalated after Mistretta got out of her vehicle, then got into a physical altercation with the victim. Mistretta then returned to her vehicle, backed up, angled her car towards the victim, and then drove over her, dragging the victim for a short distance.
The victim was transported to Long Island Community Hospital with lacerations to her skull.
Suffolk County Police officers arrested Mistretta at the scene.
On June 18, 2025, Mistretta, 51, pleaded guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz to one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a Class B violent felony, one count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a Class C violent felony, and one count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony.
On July 22, 2025, Mistretta was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
“What began as a disagreement should never have escalated to this level of violence,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “The defendant made a conscious choice to harm another person, and today’s sentence reflects the gravity of that decision.”