Nina Varrino, of Glen Cove, pleads guilty in motorcycle crash that killed couple

A Glen Cove woman who killed a couple on a Harley Davidson while high on cocaine and Xanax in 2025 pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated vehicular homicide, assault and driving under the influence of drugs, officials said.

Nina Varrino, 52, admitted running down Lisa Pelaez, 58, and her husband, George Pelaez, 64, on their motorcycle as they drove on the South Service Road of the Long Island Expressway in North Hills.

Under the negotiated plea agreement, Varrino is expected to be sentenced to 7 to 21 years in prison on Nov. 19.

According to prosecutors, Varrino, who drove a 2025 Kia Sportage, had worked the night before as an Uber driver picking up fares for the ride-hail app and stayed up all night, doing cocaine and Xanax.

An hour and 20 minutes before the crash, investigators said, they found evidence of Varrino driving erratically on the Cross Island Parkway. She pulled over to the side of the road, and witnesses told detectives that she was told that she should not be behind the wheel, officials said.

Instead of heeding their warnings, Varrino kept driving, rear-ending a car on Marathon Parkway in Queens about 11:40 a.m., 12 minutes later, prosecutors said.

She kept driving, officials said.

George and Lisa Pelaez were out for a ride to Port Jefferson on their 2010 Harley and then to Oyster Bay to visit the motorcycle museum there when Varrino slammed into them shortly before 1 p.m. between New Hyde Park Road and Shelter Rock Road, officials said.

The impact of the crash hurled the couple from the bike as it and the car burst into flame, authorities said.

Lisa Pelaez suffered multiple injuries and was taken to North Shore University Hospital-Manhasset, where she died two hours later.

George Pelaez broke multiple ribs, his spine and both shoulders as well as sustaining a collapsed lung, prosecutor said. He remained in the hospital for a month before being released.

He died on July 18.

Varrino managed to pull herself out of the wreckage, authorities said. Active levels of cocaine and Xanax were found in her blood four hours later, according to prosecutors.

“I hope today’s guilty plea brings Lisa’s and George’s family a step closer to healing, knowing that the defendant will finally face the consequences of her actions from the inside of a prison cell,” Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement.

Varrino's lawyer, Jason Russo, said his client was "quite remorseful and took full responsibility for her actions."