Driver Charged in May Police Chase Dons Cuffs, Again, After Ditching Court

The woman arrested after police said she led them on a high speed chase as she drove a gunshot victim from East Hampton to Southampton Hospital in late May 2012, found herself back in handcuffs last week.

Kimberly Delrio is being held at the Suffolk County jail in Riverside on $500 bail, after she was arrested on a bench warrant at Family Court in Riverhead on April 5. According to East Hampton Village police, Delrio didn't show up for court back in January, and the judge issued a warrant for her arrest.

Delrio, who was living in Springs last year, now lives in Clifton, NJ, according to her arrest report.

Chief Jerry Larsen said it is her second bench on this case. East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana issued a bench warrant for her in December 2012, and she was arrested, but just a month later she failed to appear, again.

It wasn't the first time Delrio didn't appear before Justice Rana; she didn't show up for her arraignment in June 2012. Judges typically give defendants a second court date if they don't appear before issuing a warrant.

Police said Delrio, 22, was behind the wheel of a Hyundai Elantra that an officer pulled over for allegedly speeding through East Hampton Village on the evening of May 24. One of the passengers, Frederic Stephens Jr., jumped out and told police he had been shot. He soon got back into the car and it took off, leading police from at least three different agencies on a chase for 11 miles to Southampton Hospital.

Larsen said the chase put everyone in danger and that someone could have been killed.

Delrio was charged with felony reckless endangerment in the first-degree and misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and fleeing a police officer, as well as several traffic violations, such as speeding, failure to stop, and talking on a cellphone. She was also allegedly driving with a suspended license on the night of the shooting.

Delrio entered a plea of not guilty in July, two weeks after she failed to appear for her first court date.

When the chase ended, investigators discovered Stephens had been shot in the basement of a house on Springs Fireplace Road with a .44-caliber handgun.

In Stephens statement to police, he said they were just trying to get to the hospital quickly. "I was afraid I was going to black out so I told her to get me to the hospital as fast as possible . . . Even after the cop stopped us I told her to get to the hospital. I was afraid I was gonna die right there," he said.

Meanwhile, Stephens' mother hailed Delrio as a hero.

Stephens underwent surgery to repair a torn artery in his arm. About a week later, his friend with felony assault and weapons possession — all stemming what Hanna and Stephens called an accident.

In September, Hanna was sentenced to one year in prison on a charge of second-degree assault, as part of a plea deal. He was released in January.

Delrio is due back in court on April 25.